


My Sisters Keeper

by BigGleeFanatic



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Child Neglect, Fire, Gen, Harry Potter Has a Sibling, Harry Potter is Not a Horcrux, Harry Potter is Not the Boy-Who-Lived, Horcruxes, Inspired by Novel, James Potter & Lily Evans Potter Live, Minor Violence, My Sisters Keeper Au, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV First Person, POV Multiple, Underage Smoking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-01-31 04:15:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 56
Words: 88,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21440056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigGleeFanatic/pseuds/BigGleeFanatic
Summary: Most children were accidents. Especially in times of wars. When you don't know you will survive, you do stupid things. I was an accident, but I was a happy one. When they found out they were pregnant with me, they found out they could save her.~Harry knew he had one purpose in life. That purpose was to make sure his older sister lived. Though, he wasn't sure he could do that anymore.Based on My Sister's Keeper by: Jodi Picoult
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 111
Kudos: 145





	1. July 1st 1991(Harry's POV)

I started asking why my parents got married when I was five. In my eyes, they were as different as the sun and moon. My father was the sun. He practically glowed in my eyes. From the way his eyes looked when he had a new idea to the way his face glowed when he smiled. His laughter was contagious and things seemed lighter when he was home. He also had a temper that reminded me of the sun’s rays. His job didn’t help the matter since he is an auror, which is dangerous like the sun can be. 

My mother is the polar opposite. She could be a mystery, like the dark side of the moon. She also was always there, even when you can’t see her. She could be cold, especially when she was mad. Despite that, you can’t help but look at her in awe. She is beautiful and can be joyful, too. She is smart and analytical. At that age, I decided that their hair colour was the reason they married. My five-year-old logic had been that the moon can’t have red hair and the sun can’t have black hair. So they matched through hair. I was about seven when they told me why. 

My brother had been teasing me about why I was born. He said it was because our sister, Jasmine, is sick. I denied it and ran to my parents. I say it is because I am a skeptic, Charlus said I was sobbing and wanted them to punish him. 

That is when I found out that mum had Jasmine right out of Hogwarts when she was seventeen to be exact. 

“I wanted to be a professor at Hogwarts, but then we found out about your sister.” She said. Dad nodded, and I asked them to tell me more. They had Charlus at eighteen and me at twenty. Sadly, I ended up getting an abridged version of the birds and the bees talk, which was gross. They did; however, get into what my brother was saying.

“We already created you when she got sick.” Dad said, pulling me onto his lap. Mum nodded, running her hand down my back as she tried to calm me down.

“The healers only checked your core to make sure it would be compatible.” Mum added. I recall being scared that they only wanted me to have spare parts for her. I still think this before we head to the hospital.

“We love you even more because we knew who we were getting.” My mother was quick to tell me. My father agreed while messing up my hair. Their words didn’t help me. They led to more questions than I wanted to ask. Such as, if she wasn’t sick would they have kept me?, she is the Girl-Who-Lived. The next question being, if they decided not to keep me, would life be like it is now?

~MSK~

I never went to Diagon Alley alone, though this would be an exception. There weren’t many branches of Gringotts around Britain, well the United Kingdom had maybe five total, and Diagon Alley was my only option. There is a reason I refused to go though. One is that with my sister always being in St Mungo’s, I always had someone with me. The other is that the Alley was always busy. 

With shops overflowing with people and everyone going from shop to shop, it is easy to get swept away in the crowds. I had to dodge people left and right as I walked down the long pathway. In times like this, I loved not being noticed. Even when I knew that if my sister were here, that wouldn’t be the case. People not looking at me doesn’t bother me. It is when I feel as though my parents are like those random faces in the crowd-that is a bit off-topic. The bank was at the end of the alley which is where I needed to be. Through some careful steps, I made it without being stepped on. The fact no one stopped me for not having an adult said more about our society than it said about me. 

When I got to the giant doors, I paid little attention to the inscription. On my first trip here, my dad read it to me. He said it was a warning and at three that was scary. So he held me as we walked into the large building. I went into the building and went straight to the goblin that handled our vaults. 

“I would like to enter my vault.” I said, handing my key over. The goblin didn’t glance down at me, nor did he give any inclination that he cared. Instead, I headed to the cart that would take me to my family's vault. The more I contemplate it, the more it made me feel weird. The vault is for our family, but we were the only ones that may use it. My uncle Sirius had no access to it, nor did my uncle Remus. If they didn’t keep me, would I have access to it? Probably not, still, I would rather be with them than with my cousin Narcissa and her son. My other option would be my Uncle Sirius, who lived with his long-term girlfriend Marlene. My uncle Remus lived with us since Jasmine got sick. So, he wasn’t an option.

“We are here.” The goblin said, taking me out of my thoughts. I quickly took a handful of silver and gold coins before hopping back into the cart. If I thought too much about it, then I wouldn’t have enough nerve to go through with it. What would happen if things changed? I am not meant to be normal. Jasmine had not been born for normal. Charlus, well he could have been if he had been born first. My parents tried to give us normal, they really did. However, with Jasmine, well, that is impossible.

The doctors don’t know what is wrong with her. They told us that there is a mass on her core. The healers can’t remove it though, something about not being able to safely. Mum asked if it was a tumor and pointed out that her symptoms had nothing to do with her core. 

“Her walking is still off. I think there may be a connection.” Mum explained to us when we asked why Jasmine wasn’t getting better. Dad said no muggle ailments can affect her. So mum’s theory of it being a tumor went out the door. At the muggle school’s that my siblings had to go to, the one I am going to, mum said she has this tumor on her spinal cord. Which at least matched her symptoms, or so my mum said. I am not so sure. Maybe the Dark Lord did something. Her magical core isn’t creating magic when she uses it. Which is where I come in because I am her donor. When her core gets too low, I am getting a needle in my back. When her symptoms get worse, I am telling my teachers that I will be out for a few days. I am literally recharging her core with my magic. In theory, her core will learn how to generate its own magic. At least that is what the healers are saying. All I truly know for a fact is that I end up in the hospital when she does. I also stay longer than her. 

Don’t feel bad for me. I am not asking for your pity. All I am trying to do is tell you not to believe what you hear about me. Especially when it is from me. 

I was working on my summer homework. Since I missed a bit during the year, there is a lot of it. As I finished the math section I heard the sounds of heals on the hardwood in the room. I looked up from my spot in the library and noticed it was only my mum. 

She was in her formal robes, which meant that she was going out. The way her skirt clung to her thin waist and how her hair was curled reminded me that she could be beautiful. The way her wavy red hair framed her heart-shaped face and her green eyes lit up, well it is easy to say she is gorgeous. At least, she could have been if she hadn't been a part of our lives. 

“There you are. How is homework going?” She asked, her voice sounded off. I could clearly see the dark circles forming under her eyes. I briefly wondered if Jasmine was sick again. However, the thought quickly left my head. She would have led with that if she was.

“It’s going good. What’s up mum?” I asked, closing my folder. She walked over to the table I was sitting at and pulled a chair out. She looked over my papers and I swore I could see a smile form as she read over my answers.

“I wanted to know if you were interested in going to London with us? I know you were in need of some new shoes and Jasmine-” She started, but something seemed to catch her attention. I thought she was trying to remember what she came up here for until she looked back at me.

“Did you hear that?” She asked, and I shook my head no. Though I knew what she thought the noise was. 

“Jasmine.” She said, rushing to the stairs. It didn’t matter if I, or anyone really, said anything about her. With Jasmine, only mum is right. The two of us made it down to the living room where Jasmine laid sobbing on the couch. My mom instantly sat next to her, rubbing her back.

“Honey, what hurts?” She asked her. My sister continued to cry, and I waited. Waited on being told to call my dad, Dumbledore or even Madame Pomfrey. Mum got into her face, her own looking distraught.

“What hurts?” She asked, and my sister sniffled, it was then that I noticed the book on the floor.

“This is the last book. I read the entire series.” She cried. Mum didn’t seem to believe her, but I wanted to laugh. This was normal, and for my family, it was like a breath of fresh air.

“The next book should come out soon.” I said, making her smile. I know the book, she asked me to read it to her when she was in remission last year. Since she was so out of it at the time, it made sense to me why she would reread it on her own. Mom left soon enough, and I sat on the floor since she was lying on the couch.

“What was this one about?” I was only asking to see if she was actually in pain. She would lie sometimes to mum about what hurt. She hated the hospital as much as I did.

“The main character left on an adventure with their friends. What else does it have to be?” she asked, smiling softly. I rolled my eyes and looked up at her, now noticing the pained look on her face.

“What hurts?” I asked. She shook her head, wincing again. It was starting again.

“Do you want me to get mum?” I asked. She shook her head, reaching for my hand. I grabbed onto it, holding on for dear life.

“Not yet.” She said, her voice failing slightly. This pain was bad. I could tell from her expression alone. I wait on the floor for her to fall asleep. The potions she takes daily do that to her, again since they don’t know what was wrong with her, to begin with. Once she was asleep, I went back upstairs to my shared room. My brother was out, probably in the attic, so I could grab my sack of coins I had been slowly saving up. From odd chores around the house, birthday and whatever my uncle would give me when I asked. It wasn’t enough, but with the bank trip, I was at about 300 gallons, which wasn’t as much as it sounded. Still, maybe my aunt Andi would give me a discount. Since I am family that is.

After I grabbed my coins, I climbed up to the attic, hoping over the clothes on the floor. I sometimes swear that he does this on purpose. He is the only one that goes up there. Mum refuses since it smelled, and dad doesn’t like to climb all the stairs. They only let him stay up there because he and I used to fight when we were younger. I also suspect that they felt bad about missing his football games when he was younger. Regardless of the reason he was up there, it still took a while for me to get up there. When I got to his door, I knocked on the side of the door frame.

"Go away." He called back to me. I sighed as I kicked the frame. At least he was home. During the summer he liked to stay away. Jasmine has her treatments during the summer if she didn’t have an incident within the past six months. Which made mum unbearable sometimes. 

"Can I come in?" I asked. There was no response until he answered the door. His swollen eyes are visible in the dark, and from what I could tell, they were a little red. Which meant he had been out. 

“What do you want?” He asked, his voice quiet. I sighed and gave him a look. When he didn’t get the message I bit my lip and glanced around.

“I need some help.” I admit, not knowing how to bring it up. There was very little I had to say for him to summon the knight bus for me. What was a couple of chores more? Especially since what was about to happen to Jasmine if she got worse. 

The ride itself didn’t take long, though walking up those stairs felt as though I was walking to my doom. Still, I knock on the door. Pouch of money in my pocket. The doors opened, revealing a pink-haired girl. She had a smile on her lips when she saw me.

“Wotcher Harry?” She said I smiled brightly as she let me in. 

“Wotcher Tonks?” I asked. She ruffled my hair, leading me into the den. Their house was much more alive than mine ever would be. There were socks folding themselves on the sofa and a pot washing in the sink. In the middle of the room was my Aunt Andie. 

“Mum, Harry is here.” She declared. Auntie Andie looked over with a shocked look on her face. I forgot that I hadn’t called ahead of time, though she would have asked why I didn’t just come with my parents. She still would ask, unless I explain what happened first.

“Harry, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here to our neck of the woods?” She asked, straightening out her skirt. I noticed that her apron had a few stains and her hair was messy. It was so unlike her sister’s hair. My aunt Andromeda isn't actually my aunt. She is my uncle Sirius's cousin, but since Sirius is my godfather, she isn't actually related to us. Regardless, she is my auntie for simplicity.

“I need your help.” I admit, playing with the sleeves of my jacket. She gave me a confused expression before looking around the room.

“Do you want to meet in my study?” She asked. I nodded, not looking at her in the eye. My aunt leads me up the stairs into a small room with a desk. I take one side and she takes the other. We both sit in silence before I spoke up.

“As you know, my sister isn’t getting any better.” I said, my voice isn’t steady at all. I could already visualize the sympathetic expression on her face, though she doesn’t respond.

“I need you to act as my witness in court. I need you to help me sue my parents for the right to my body.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have twelve chapters prewritten. I just wanted to see if this was an idea people would read.


	2. Andromeda

Politics in the wizarding world are interesting. When you are raised in them, they seem simple. However, they are very limited. The laws are very sparse and we have departments for almost everything. Yet none of the wizarding laws and politics I am aware of could help me with this child. 

Muggle ones, on the other hand, may be helpful if they are sprung together correctly. That would require me to go back to the muggle degree I had gotten years ago, and I am not sure how that would fare in the case of the youngest Potter child. Let alone against his parents, who are very well known. In our small community, something like this would be almost unheard of. Despite that fact, it also goes against every alliance rules I can think of. He is my cousin's godson, and since I have loyalty towards him, this may seem appropriate. Though I would be publicly against his best friend, which would put me against his alliance. I could clearly see that Harry was growing impatient, though I am not even sure what his case is. It would be best if I told him no. If I told him that the case would be impossible. 

"Harry, I am afraid that you not wanting a vaccination is not enough to sue your parents." I chuckle, hoping that this was the case. He only shook his head and gave me a look that reminded me of his parents. 

"Me getting a shot isn't the problem. Me getting a needle that is 100 mm into my back is." He said, making me wince. That is not exactly a small needle. Though it didn't make sense, vaccination needles aren't that large. 

"I do not understand." I tell him, purposely not answering his original question. I can see his eyes become darker, the room felt a little colder. Yet, his eyes also began to look around my office, as though he were trying to formulate any response that would make any sense.

“How much do you know about my sister’s treatments?” He asked. I thought back to what Sirius had told me, which isn’t much if I am being honest. I just know that her core gets doused with magic in hope it makes it's own. The procedure itself is risky; however, I never stopped to think about where they got the magic. 

"Not much, why?" I asked him. He huffed and leaned forward towards the desk. He began to play with the figurines I had left on my desk. 

"When I was born they took my stem cells to see if they could fix her core. That worked. When I was three months old the mass returned so they took a small part of my magic to see if it would help hers. When it did, they began to take more and more each year.” Harry explained. I didn’t respond, hoping the child would continue. Harry looked around again. I could tell he was trying to collect his thoughts. The short boy then looked back at me. The look told me he was expecting an answer.

“You can tell them no.” I remind him. The boy shook his head, his eyes glazed over, as though he was remembering something. When he came back, he shook his head again.

“I tried multiple times. They don’t listen.” He said. I nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder from across the desk.

“What made you say enough is enough this time?” I asked. I honestly hope that this was something easy. Something that I could easily tell the boy that I would talk to his parents and this would all ease right through with no issue. However, cases like this are never easy.

“The doctors told them they don’t know what is wrong with her. That they cannot find anything that would cause her symptoms. They also said that her core is growing and that if they keep taking from mine-” He trailed off, but I could easily connect the dots. His core wasn’t being allowed to grow on its own. If he continued, he would never be developed enough to go to school or worse. At that moment I knew that I had to take his case. This wasn’t right in any means.

“Here is 300 gallons. I know it isn’t enough, but it is all I have.” He said. Normally, from the few times I represented people I knew in court, I would charge more. The same went to healing; however, since Harry was so young.

“You need not worry about that.” I told him, meaning every word I said. I couldn’t charge him, not for something like this.

“No, you can’t. I mean, I have the money.” He tried. I shook my head, knowing that I could accept no money from the boy. He smiled and thanked me. I shook my head, knowing that I might make a bad choice here. However, from what it sounded like, this poor boy needed someone on his side.

“All right, so do you know how this will go?” I asked him. He shook his head, making me sigh. The kid couldn’t know everything, though this would be difficult to explain to a child.

“First, I need to send this case to the Department of Magical Law. They will then decide on if they want to take the case. When that happens, the case will be assigned to a specific member who will then decide on what type of case it is. It is unlikely that you will need the entire Wizengnot, so you might just meet with a judge. When that happens, they will question you and your parents. I will act as your defense since you have the right to a witness. After that, you will either receive a verdict or they will take it to the Wizegnot.” I explain. He nodded, letting me know he understood at least part of that. I didn’t tell him I knew this would be a simple case. Since no judge would ever force a child to donate their magic. However, with whom his sister is, well that might make it slightly more difficult.

“Do you know how to contact me?” I asked him. He gives me a small smile as he nodded.

“Owl or through the floo.” He said, pointing to my office fireplace. He then gives me a look.

“Do you know how to contact me?” He asked in a teasing voice. I nodded, rolling my eyes. I almost forgot how cheeky this boy could be.

I wished him well, sending him off with my daughter so she could get him a ride on the Knight Bus. Once I was sure I was alone, I pulled out one of my law books. I needed to prepare for this, then prep Harry before we made any plans. It wasn’t long before I found something that might help; however, it was a long shot. It was, in fact, a muggle defense.

“Honey, I’m home.” I hear my husband calling.

“In my study, dear.” I respond, knowing he would come straight to my room. When he did, he sat where Harry had been prior. I sighed, placing the book down before pulling out some ink and parchment.

“What is all this?” He asked. I sighed, looking down at the paper.

“I am about to help James and Lilly’s son sue them.” I say. He smiled sadly at me, standing up and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. I could only stare at the blank parchment.

“I am sure that you have a good reason to help him. Though, I wonder where he plans on staying.” Ted says, mostly talking to himself. I sighed, pulling out another piece of parchment. I knew this would be a long shot, but if I knew the family like I thought I did, they would be his best option. 


	3. Lily (1978-1979)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pay attention to the year next to the character POV. It will make things far less confusing.

She was one when we found out about the prophecy. Dumbledore had brought us to Hogwarts to tell us about the interview he had with the newest Divination professor. When he got to the prophecy, it surprised us. 

"How can a baby defeat a Dark Lord?" James demanded. Dumbledore sighed and gave us a sympathetic look. 

"She is one of the few children born to parents who defied the dark lord thrice. You both were asked. The other option would be if Frank and Alice had a child." He said. We both glanced at each other and I held my two-year-old close to me. My giggly girl tried to pull away. She looked at me with those big brown eyes and asked me to let her go. I felt my eyes water as I loosened my grip. I could never lose her. So we went into hiding. 

Shortly after I had our son Charlus, and a year went by without an incident. We almost came out of hiding all together when we found out there had been no sightings in months. Then another attack happened. 

"I should go back out into the field." James told our old professor, He shook his head and gave us a solemn look.

"I am afraid there seems to be a traitor. One of my spies recalls that your current location has been revealed." He said. James and I sighed, knowing we would have to move and go under the fistulous charm to be safe. At the time Jazz was about two then and Charlus was a year old. We planned for Sirius to be our secret keeper. He declined, stating he was the wrong choice. So we settled on Peter, telling our headmaster we chose Sirius, along with Remus. We tried to make things work, keep things consistent. Sirius would bring over Remus to our house. Peter would stop by every so often. The lot of them made our lives much saner.Then he came, and Peter betrayed us. We all survived, and I had thought the worst of it was over. That is until Charlus saw her walking weird. 

I heard the sound of my boy giggling. So I looked over and saw him toddling next to his sister. He was walking in a straight line with no issue, she was not. Jasmine’s feet were facing in a weird angle.

“Honey, is that how we walk?” I asked her. I knew my tone was one of amusement and the look on her face said she took it as a joke. She tried walking again, but she couldn’t get her feet straight. I walked over to her and crouched beside her.

“Are you alright sweetie?” I asked. She looked up at me and shook her head.

“Feet won't go right.” She shrugged. I straightened her feet for her, thinking it was nothing. We went on with our day after that. As the day went on, I caught her walking oddly though I didn’t correct it. That is until she began to fall.

“Sweetie, this is why we walk normal.” I said. She pouted her lips as she looked down at her feet. It was almost as though she was trying to will her feet to move right. 

“I trying mummy.” She pouted, her lip wobbling. By the time they went to bed, she had fallen five times. When James got home later that night I told him about it. He didn't seem all that concerned, shrugging his shoulders when I asked what I should do. 

“Kids are silly. Maybe she was playing a game.” He told me, kissing my temple. I sighed and went back to drinking my drink. Later that night I was still thinking about it. I curled up with him in bed, silently hoping he was right. 

When I woke up the next day, Charlus was crying on the monitor. James had already headed out, leaving me with the kids. I quickly got my son ready for the day before walking down to the living room, only to find that my daughter had been still asleep. Which was an odd occurrence, she was normally the first one up. So I set my son on the floor to play and went upstairs to her bedroom. 

When I entered her room, I noticed that she was still asleep. So I went to her bed and touched her back. The small girl’s eyes shot right opened as she began to cry. I knew something was wrong with her, so I quickly picked her up and grabbed the two-way mirror. 

“Sirius Black.” I said his name and before long the mirror showed an exhausted man.

“What’s up Ginger?” He asked. The fear made it impossible for me to scold him, and I told him I needed to take Jazz to St. Mungo’s. He popped into the room without a second thought. He quickly found Charlus, and I took her to the hospital.

Once we arrived we were ushered to floor two. The healer checked her over and gave her a small dose of a calming drought. She seemed fine, though she whimpered from the small touch on her back. The healer sighed and began to look her over. I could see him noting where she seemed to react most. The potion also didn't seem to work that well since she started reacting shortly after. 

“Could it be a growth spurt?” I asked her healer, who was gently touching up her back. Jasmine was weeping quietly as he touched her.

“I don’t think so, but I may need to run a diagnostic scan on her.” He said, grabbing his wand. I held my daughter's hand, who was now looking at the wall. She giggled as the characters on the wall waved at her, making it easy for the healer to cast the spell. I hoped that her distraction made the pain go away. Though, I knew that wasn't the case at all. 

“All right, I will send these to the lab, and we will call you in a few minutes.” He told us, ushering us to the waiting room. The couple minutes felt like hours, and with Jasmine feeling too crummy to move, it was even worse on the toddler. However, the healer soon walked up. The look on his face told me that this was not good news.

"I have some good news and bad news." He said. I sighed and looked down at her.

"What is the good news?" I asked. He smiled softly.

"There is a treatment for what is wrong with her. It is entirely experimental though, and I will need your husband to also sign off on it." He said. This made my head spin. There was something wrong with her. Did I do it to her? Is this what happened to a child that was born from a muggle-born? What about our son, will he get it? The healer seemed to notice my thoughts since he went onto the bad news. 

“There seems to be something off about her core. It is much too low for an almost three-year-old.” He said. I sighed, silently wishing I had gone into the medical profession. If I had then I would understand what on earth he was talking about.

“What does that even mean?” She asked. The healer sighed, shaking his head.

“Well, witches and wizards have magic. It is a biological function that makes us different from muggles. Our magic is similar to the nervous system. It runs through our veins and through our entire body and takes control. Unlike everything else, it does come out in a nonphysical form, at least when we do not have a base point. Kinda like a static shock. Your daughter has something on her core, where the magic gets formed in her body." He explained. I sighed, not liking where this is going. 

"So we will have to take her up to floor four. Then we will run another test.” He added, making me sigh.

“Wait, isn’t the fourth floor for long term patients? Also, I thought you said there is a treatment, what happened to that?” I asked him. He shook his head.

“Well, in some cases yes. It is for spell damage. Since we do not know what caused her aliment, I am unsure that she can be treated here.” He said. I followed him up, my daughter in my arms. Soon enough, they were in her next room, with another healer checking on her. I waited patiently as the healer ran another test. This one was a little different, and I didn’t fully understand what they were doing.

“So if you see here, there is this small mass blocking your child’s core. It looks like it is latched to the core.” I am told, being handed the photo they had. I could feel my hands reaching my mouth as I tried to hide the shock.It is one thing to be told, it is another to be shown. I am not sure who called James. Yet in moments he is next to us, hugging me as I cry into his arms. Jazz doesn’t seem to know anything bad is going on. Instead, she is sitting on the examination bed, looking at the characters on the wall.

“Mr. and Mrs. Potter, we will need to do a few more tests before we let you take her home.” The Healer said. We both nod and let the Healers do their job. They then allow us to take her back home. As we walked out of the hospital, I find it so difficult to think that the happy girl was sick. Think about what it would mean if she never got better. She would live with a low core, that is the best we could hope for if we can't help her. At worse, she could die from what was leaching on her magic when it finally runs out. 

"Mummy, ice cream?" She asked, her red curls framed her face. I smile and pick her up. She squirms around, reminding me how her spirit would never tame. How she would fight this with all she had. 

"Let's go home, Uncle Padfoot would want to get ice cream." James said, taking her from my arms. I laugh as she pouted out her bottom lip. We end up taking the floo back home and we give her a snack as soon as we arrived. As she munched on her animal crackers, we filled Sirius in on what happened.

“Maybe she is underdeveloped. They could have missed something.” He assured us. It didn’t help. We still took them to get ice cream when Charlus woke up. We spent the entire day out and about, trying to ignore what they told us about what could happen to our daughter. It was almost easy to forget. Seeing that happy face as she chatted with the waitstaff in the restaurant. The way she ran around in the park, although her feet were positioned wrong. 

That night, James and I couldn’t sleep. Not when we knew that this tiny girl we have only known for two years could leave us. Not when that little girl was all smiles and laughter. Not our happy little girl. I could see every memory I have with her flash in my eyes. I knew that I could never let her go. I would do everything in my power to save her. I would even stick a damn needle in her arm five times to make those results go away. I would let them poke at her if they said it would get rid of the thing making her sick. I would give my life if it meant she would survive. 

"They kept giving her test. They said they knew what it is, but they kept on testing her." I whispered. James nodded and held my hand.

"They know something is there, just not what." He mumbled. I turned and looked over at him.

“I will save her.” I told James, looking up at his exhausted form.

“I am not letting anything happen to her.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I didn't forget this. With Thanksgiving being yesterday I didn't have the time to post this chapter.


	4. James 1991

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything in italics is in the past

We find another Death Eater maybe once every two months. Tracking them down takes around two weeks and formulating a plan takes another two weeks. The process is long, and it is still the easiest part of my life. I think about the next big bad as I do my paperwork, trying to tune out the thoughts about my family at home. With Jasmine starting her next treatment soon, anything is a willing distraction.

“Potter, we have another case.” One of my co-workers say, placing a file on my desk. The file didn’t have much, though it did show the back of a ministry employee with a dark mark. I looked through the file, taking note of any indication of who it could be. I start with the usual signs. Hair color that peaked from behind the masks. The body language of the man, or woman. The way that they hold themselves. It seems tedious, yet this is what made the job interesting. When I come up with a couple suspects I hand it off to my partner. 

Times like this I miss working with Sirius, who became a hit wizard for the ministry. He said it was much less paperwork and more freedom. I never comment on it. I know it is more exciting, though with my family life. Well, exciting is a luxury I can’t afford. 

My partner glances up at me as he rereads the file. I can tell he has some ideas, which might mean we can formulate a plan before I go home. If not, then I will be here all night. Which is not an option for me. Not when Lily wants to talk about the possibility of a new treatment. Regardless of what the treatment is, two of our children will be there overnight at the least. One of them will be stuck at home. It is always the same kids too.

“I am thinking it could be that older guy that guards the, well you know.” My partner suggest as they look through the file. I nodded, knowing who he was talking about. I could see where he was coming from on that one. Still, I wasn’t convinced. There are a couple of new recruits who knew the layout of the ministry way to well. It was almost as though they had been here before. Granted that could mean their parents worked here. You can’t be too careful though.

“Do you think they would let us in there? Maybe we could set a trap.” I asked. My partner shook his head and told me that would never fly. I wanted to get in there for other reasons. I want to find the prophecy that led that monster to leave that thing on her. I closed the folder and handed it back to him. 

"James, I get why you want in there. Trust me, if it were my kid I would have tried breaking in by now. However, will knowing make it go away?" He asked. I shake my head and sighed, leaning back into my chair.

"Anything would be better at this point." I mumbled. He patted me on the shoulder as he stood up. I can see him stretch before he placed the folder closer to his chair. 

"Well, let me know when you want to start searching. For now, go eat dinner with your family. We will call you for the meeting." He said. I grinned before heading out, knowing dinner tonight would not be pleasant. Since it never is, not in between treatments. Especially if Lily found a new diet that promotes magical core strengthening. Still, long days at work meant two dinners. Which will at least give me something decent if she is on a new kick.

The first dinner is always spent at home. My bosses understand I want to see my kids. Also Lily enjoys being informed who is being caught and who is left. It makes her feel involved. When she is not at home, I get an extra hour. This way I can be with my daughter longer. We never know when it is the last time we will be bringing her home. This time we are at home, leaving me two an hour for dinner. Lily had been making Salmon and brown rice with steamed veggies. 

Today I am met by Jasmine at the table first. She was plopping into her seat as I popped in, which is always a pleasant surprise. She normally isn't hungry when she is having a treatment. The healers tell us it is because she is nauseous and that we should go easy on certain foods. Jasmine tells us that the pain makes eating unbearable. Which makes sense to me. If I were in that much pain, eating would be the last thing on my mind.

“Hey princess.” I say, grabbing her hand. She smiled softly at me, and I could tell it was a bad pain day. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Still, she tried to engage with me by giving me a small hug. That tells me that the pain was from a while ago and she is feeling better.

“What have you been up to?” I asked, hoping that she was at least feeling well enough for a conversation. Her smile didn’t leave her face as she looked back up at me, small dimples appearing on her cheeks.

“The usual, visiting far off places with my two amigos, fighting the bad guy with the power of friendship. In between core scans and my tutors, of course.” She said. I snorted when she gave me a look that was so much like her mother at that age. The girl was almost a spitting image of her, if it weren’t for the brown eyes. 

As though she heard my thoughts,Lily carried in the fish and set it on the table. She rolled her eyes at me, looking at my dirty shirt. When she turned around, I smirked. A small plan entering my head, and I planned to execute it right away.

“Don’t you want me baby?” I sang off-key, making both her and Jasmine laugh. Lily tossed her wand to me, and I caught it instantly.

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" I gasped. Lily rolled her eyes as she looked back at me. I figure she was trying to make sure I didn't drop the wand. Jasmine was giggling in her seat, making this a mission accomplished. 

“Cut up the fish won't you?” Lily asked. I nodded without a second thought, cutting up the fish with a flick of my wrist. Our second oldest came down as I cut into the fish. I could hardly see his eyes behind the hair he let be plastered in his face. When I did see his eyes, I saw that they were barely opened. Charlus slumped down in his chair, not looking at anyone. 

The deal we made is that he can take the attic, as long as he stopped fighting with his brother and he made it down for dinner with us. Sadly, that implied that he was able to sneak away as long as he came down for food. Lily didn't seem to mind, as long as he stayed out of the way during important events. These being his sisters treatments. I tried to spend time with him, but that never seemed to work. He always hid up in the attic. A part of me hoped he would grow out of this and become more engaged. The other part of me knows that it is better if he doesn't. If he did, then we would lose one more kid in the aftermath of his sisters ailments. There needs to be one Potter unscathed by this.

“You look like hell.” Jasmine said. He didn’t pay attention to her at first. Instead he put food on his plate, ignoring the fish. 

"You don't look much better." He rolled his eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him and he did the same back. My darling wife came back into the room, which I could tell from the footsteps. 

“Sweet Merlin.” Lily said, her voice sounded upset. I glanced over and saw that she was staring at the table. 

"I forgot the corn." She mumbled. I sighed and handed her wand back. She pocketed it and headed back into the kitchen. I have no idea what is said about me that I am glad that she seemed oblivious to the fact that our son was covered in cuts and bruises. It was even worse than I am relieved that he is only fighting. There was a point in time that I was worried he would turn out like Sirius. Granted Sirius was older when he picked up smoking, but with kids these days. You never know what they can get their hands on. Which was scarier than dealing with a sick child who might need the drugs.

“Still picking up fights with the street kids?” Jasmine asked, her tone snarky. Charlus gave back a quick-witted response, one that I couldn’t pick up on. Lily scolds them from the kitchen and it feels all normal. As though that tonight, I could pretend I have the perfect family. Until I noticed a missing person at the table.

“Where is Harry?” I asked the kids. 

“Wasn’t she in the living room?” Lily asked, walking back into the room with a bowl of corn. Once she placed it on the table she walked back into the kitchen, likely getting drinks.

“Not since this morning.” Jasmine said, looking at Charlus. The boy shrugged and glanced over his shoulder. Lily came back into the room and sighed.

“For goodness sake, Harry. Dinner.” Lily called. Jasmine rolled her eyes and unzipped her jacket, revealing a pink and purple shirt that said ‘Bad Witch’ on it. It was obvious she picked it up in muggle London, as there were no stores near here that would have sold it to her. 

“I got it at my last Hogsmeade.” She explained, seeming proud of herself. That made me smile, after all, she got to go to school last year. Before Lily could comment Harry slumped into his seat, not meeting anyone's eyes. 

“Where were you at?” Jasmine asked. Harry didn’t even grab a plate, instead, he rested his head on the table.

“Around.” He said. This was weird. After all, Harry was never the problem child. Charlus had a temper, and Jasmine was either doing very well or very poorly. Harry was a constant. He was the child who ate without any issues. The child that would tell us about the new thing he read in our library. He was the one who talked about the potion he recreated from Jasmine's books. On top of that, no one knew where he was. Which was never a good thing with these kids.

“Did something happen?” I asked, hoping to engage a conversation. Harry glanced at his sister. Only to give me a shocked look when he figured out she didn’t speak. That one hurt more than I thought it would.

“No.” He said, looking back at his plate. I sighed and leaned closer to the table.

“Are you feeling alright?” I asked him, making him do a double-take. I know the question is never asked unless it was to Jasmine. However, the kids shouldn’t feel like we don’t care if they are alright. 

“I’m fine.” He said. I pointed to his empty spot, and he sighed. The boy grabbed his plate and piled food onto it, shoving a spoon full of steamed carrots. The sight brought me back to little Harry giving me a toothy grin as he ate peas. 

_' "Alright, what do you want to eat?" Lily asked our three year old who just came back home. His hand had a plaster on it from the IV. _

_"I want peas." He decided after a few seconds of thinking. Charlus gave him an astonished look._

_"Why does he get to pick?" He whined. I sighed and shook my head._

_"Harry donated, so he gets to pick." Lily scolded the boy. _

_"I am just saying, he shouldn't get to pick if he doesn't make good choices. I would have picked ice cream." Charlus grumbled.'_

Lily came back with the drinks and sighed when she saw the shirt our daughter had on. She didn’t comment though, it wasn’t as bad as the things Sirius had worn. Instead, she served everyone and began to dish out the fish. When I took a bite of it, I wanted to spit it out. It was only cooked with lemon as an effort of keeping it fine for Jasmine. Before I could comment, I noticed that Harry had up and disappeared. No one seemed to notice that he even left the table.

I had enough time to help clean up tonight, which meant I also had enough time to talk with my wife. As the two of us clean up I drift back to a time when we were normal. Before the attack, before she got sick. It is hard to remember a time if I were being honest.

“They are prepping Jasmine for the transplant tomorrow. When do you get off work?” Lily asked, breaking the silence. 

“Around six, but I am on call right now.” I explained. She hummed, going back to the dishes. I thought back to dinner, wincing when the memory of noticing our youngest leaving dinner and no one noticing. 

“Did Harry look alright to you?” I ask, knowing that she probably didn’t notice. It's not her fault though. With everything going on, it is easier to forget the child who doesn't seem to need any help.

“Compared to Jasmine and Charlus? Yeah, he seemed perfect.” She said a sigh in her voice was obvious. 

“I mean, he didn’t really eat much.” I remind her. She glanced over at me and shook her head. I could tell that she wanted to drop the conversation. 

“Did Jasmine look alright to you?” She asked. I nodded, knowing that was the only thing she wanted to hear. Times like this, I am not sure that we would have survived if Jasmine hadn’t gotten sick.

A few hours later I was at the old HQ for the order. It was the only place that I had any peace anymore. The meeting I had been at earlier took much more time than I had hoped. Yet I couldn’t bring myself to come back home. Not to my exhausted wife who I almost don’t recognize anymore. Not to my sick daughter that we still have little to no idea what is wrong with her. Not to my sons who don’t get enough time from us. So, I wonder old HQ, looking at the photos we had put up around. It was at first made to make us feel at home. Now it is a place filled with haunting memories and an old feeling of hope. 

“Who is that?” I heard a voice ask. I jumped out of my skin before I looked down. Harry was standing next to me and was pointing to a set of redheaded twins. 

“Gideon and Fabian Prewett.” I say, my voice was softer. He nodded and looked up at me.

“Siri said you would be here.” He said, answering my unasked question. He was always good at doing that. 

“Does your mother know?” I asked. He nodded, not meeting my eyes. I sigh and grab his hand, leading him to the library. His eyes widen in excitement as he looked at the books. 

“Read to me?” He asked softly. Now how could I ever say no to that? 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear I will get back to posting on Thursdays. However, my finals start Monday and yesterday I had two classes, so I was exhausted.


	5. Harry July 2nd

When I was younger, I always imagined that I had another family. That there was a copy of my family out there, and that I just got misplaced. The second family would have Jasmine not being sick and both of us had no problems with our magical cores. As I sit on the fifth floor of the hospital, I imagine them coming to meet me. I imagine them picking me up, giving me a big hug, and pulling me away from the life I am living in. Instead, I am stuck sitting here. Sipping tea as I wait for my mother and father to come get me. 

“What are you here for?” A voice asked. I looked over and spotted a blonde pudgy boy. He looked as though he was my age, and it confused me as to why someone else would be here. At least, someone under the age of twelve.

“My sister needs a transplant” I said. He gave me a confused look and I shake my head.

“Her core is very low. So they take my magic to recharge hers.” I explained. He winced slightly and began to look at his lap.

“That sounds terrible.” He whispered. I nod and walk over to the boy, placing my hand on his shoulder. It was a habit that I now realize I got from my family. The boy didn’t seem to mind though. 

“Why are you here?” I asked him. The boy looked up and sighed. The look on his face said that I didn’t want to know. 

“My parents are here. They got hurt during the aftermath of the war.” He explained. I was about to offer him some support when my mum came up. This meant that I would be needed soon. So I waved at him as we headed to the elevator. 

My sister’s room was always two away from the elevator. Her doctor liked having her in the same spot. He claimed that it was good luck, and who were we to discourage something that might help. The room had her connected to these specialized tubes. You could see the magic flowing in and out of her from them. It looked like they were trying to draw out any source of magic from her core, though the amount of magic that came back through the tubes looked like it was losing some. It is practically guaranteed that the mass was getting worse. 

“Does it hurt?” I asked her as I watched the machine. She shook her head, looking back to her book.

“The boredom is what hurts.” She laughed. I rolled my eyes, glancing over to our mother. She was reading a pamphlet of some kind and I went back to watching the magic flow in and out of her. 

“Harry, this time they are looking at half. They think if they cut back then it would force her core to react.” Mum said as she read. I shook my head, I knew why they were really doing it. Last time I had almost lost all my own because they made a mistake. I ended up in the hospital alone for three days. Uncle Sirius had visited as soon as he found out. He also hasn’t been around since. 

“What they are doing just isn’t right.” He told me. I asked him why he didn’t try to fix it. He only gave me a sad smile and a hug.

“When you are finally done, go visit cousin Andie.” He told me. That was the last of it. He left and the next day my parents had come to visit. Something told me it was because Jasmine had been released. 

“Mails here.” Mum said. She took the mail from the owl and handed Jasmine her letters first. She handed me the newspaper and glanced at a folded piece of parchment that she was holding. The look on her face was one of confusion, that is when I saw the name on it. My eyes shot wide open when I realized what this was. I couldn’t move since that would be suspicious. Instead, I stayed right in my seat, looking at the paper. I couldn’t see the writing, but I knew what it was for. Which meant that auntie Andie got it approved. 

“Mum, what is it?” Jasmine asked from her bed.

“I am not sure, sweetie.” She said, sitting on her bed. I couldn’t see what she was reading; however, from what I could see from her facial expression I knew it was not good. 

“Harry, what the hell?” Mum asked, looking at me with harsh eyes. She stood up and walked over to me. The papers were clutched in her hands and I shrunk into myself. 

“Mum, it hurts. Get the Healer.” Jasmine whined. Mum looked over at her and back at me.

“Mummy please.” Jasmine begs. I could tell that mum was stuck at a crossroad right now. She could either keep moving straight or turn entirely. Yet I knew who would win this war. Just like it always did. Mum quickly summoned a nurse and I ran. I knew I couldn’t go to the fifth floor and visit with that boy. I couldn’t even go down to the lobby. Instead, I wandered the hallway of the floor we were on. I stepped in front of rooms, looking at the people inside. Some were sleeping, and others were mindlessly chattering with each other. I did end up finding the blonde boy. He was with a much older woman, and the two were in a room with a couple that is my parent's age. Yet they seemed much older. The woman had the same blonde hair as the boy. She had a pixie cut and her face fit her hair perfectly. The man was a spitting image of his son. Except he had darker hair. 

“Thank you mummy.” The boy whispered, taking a rapper from her hand. I had to wonder if my parents would visit. If I ended up here. They wouldn’t be able to take my magic. For all they know, it would be the one thing keeping me alive. Still, from what my mother had shown today. I would be surprised if she spoke to me again. 

I ended up calling Sirius to pick me up. By the time he got there, I am informed by a staff member that my mum had the whole hospital turned upside down looking for me. 

“Let her know I am alive then.” I say, climbing into the sidecar of Uncle Sirius’s motorcycle.

“How did she react?” He asked me. I sighed, shaking my head.

“She called dad.” I said, remembering that I saw him in the lobby. Sirius shook his head, ruffling my hair. 

“I am proud of you.” He promised. I knew he was telling the truth. 

When they came back home, it was almost like a dream. Jasmine barely looked at me before father sent her up to her room. Charlus hung around downstairs, as did uncle Sirius. Mum slammed her bag onto the kitchen table before looking at me. 

“All right, what is going on?” She asked. Her voice was like ice. I could feel the temperature drop in the room from her. 

“I got a representative.” I said, refusing to mention who it was. My mother nodded, laughing to herself. 

“Of course you did. Well, call them and tell them you changed your mind.” She demanded, pointing me to the floo network. It takes all my willpower to shake my head no. 

“Harry, so help me.” She said, her voice not letting go. Dad grabbed ahold of her shoulders and began to rub them.

“Lils.” He said. The words were calm, yet they seemed to slice through the tension. 

“We agreed to let her explain.” He said. I sighed, looking between the two of them.

“I don’t want to do this anymore.” I said. My voice is shaking as the words left my mouth. 

“Well, Harry, neither do we. Neither does Jasmine. Guess what, we don’t have a-” She started but I cut her off.

“Well, I do have a choice. Which is why I did this.” I said. My mother stood in front of me. Her head leaning down at me as she glared. 

“So you bring a representative for this? You made them think this is all about you when it isn’t. This is about all of us.” She said. I knew she was trying to guilt me into compliance. My father leans down, getting between us, and places a hand on my shoulder. 

“Harry, I understand that you think you needed to do this-” He started, and my mother interrupts with her opinion on the matter. 

“Lilly, shut up.” He said. She glared as he continued. 

“But we need to talk about this. With no lawyers involved.” He tried. I wanted to explain, but I can’t. That would ruin everything.

“I can’t dad.” I say, my voice shaking. My mother apparently had enough of this, since she pushed dad back.

“Do you know what will happen if you go through with this?” She asked. I can hear the nonverbal question. What will happen to Jasmine? I could feel my throat closing and I know I blurted something out. Whatever it was, mum didn’t like it. She slapped me, hard. I knew there were marks on my cheek from the sound of my uncle and brother. 

When my brother and I started fighting, I was five and he was eight. It got so bad that mum and dad had placed me in Jasmine’s room until they could figure out something that would solve my brother and my problems. However, to keep things civil between my sister and I, they divided the room. I got the side near the window and she got the side near the door. The problem didn’t come from us sharing a room. You see, my sister was a brat and decided that the room had an invisible barrier and that I couldn’t go on her side of the room and she couldn’t go on mine. It wasn’t an issue until lunch that day. When Jasmine left to go eat, I was stuck behind the invisible barrier. I could have cried for help, or even try to get past the line. Instead, I decided to climb out of the window. 

I ended up stuck in the tree, and it was an hour before they found me. My mum was the one to save me. She climbed through the window and carried me back into the room. 

“You are safe my little bird.” She whispered as she carried me out of the room. We passed the barrier, and I got to eat. We made up very quickly, and I ended up back in my bedroom shortly after. 

I am hiding in said bedroom when Jasmine decides she wants to talk to me. I tried to hide and avoid her, but she is too smart for that. 

“We need to talk.” She says. I didn’t respond as I hid under my bed. She walked over to the bed and pulled me out from under it.

“Now.” She declared. I sighed, climbing onto my bed. She sits next to me and we both sit in silence.

“You know, you don’t have to do this.” She whispered to me. I nod in response, looking at my hands. 

“I know, but it is done.” I say. I can’t look at her, it would hurt too much. 

“You are my best friend, and I don’t think I could ever lose you.” She whispered. I nod in agreement. I would never be able to lose her, even if what I am doing might as well lead to that. As for the best friend remark, it might as well be true. She had no friends at school for how often she is in and out of it. With her core being almost empty by the end of the year, it is difficult for her to do her exams. Every year, they contemplate on sending her to school.

“I’m your brother.” I then say, hoping it explained everything. She nodded and gave me a sad smile. 

“That makes it even more powerful.” She whispered. She left the room right after, and I decide that I need to sleep. So I left and took a quick shower.When it was over, I climbed into bed and closed my eyes. Sleep didn’t come though. Instead my parent’s whispered arguments came. The words may have been soft, but they might as well have been shouted across the house.

“He is only doing this for attention.” Mum whispered as she opened my door. 

“Maybe he needs it then. When was the last time either of us spent time with him?” Dad whispered I could hear him enter the room. I could hear mum sigh in disappointment. 

“We can’t encourage this. You know what would happen if he goes through with this tantrum.” Mum whispered. 

“Who says this is a tantrum. Maybe this isn’t as crazy as it seems.” Dad tried to explain. Mum didn’t like that. I could tell from her heavy breathing. 

“Who’s side are you on?” She whispered. Dad denied sides existing, but we all knew that there were sides. With this, it might as well be a war. One side would win, and it would cost them greatly. I could only hope that there aren’t any casualties in the end. I heard my door close and opened my eyes. I almost jumped when I saw my mom sitting on the edge of my bed.

“I thought you were gone.” I whispered to her. She shook her head as she looked at me.

“What else were you thinking?” She asked me. I bit my lip as I looked down at my lap.

“That you hate me for doing this.” I admit. She shook her head and moved closer to me, pulling me into her embrace. 

“How could you ever doubt that I love you.” She whispered. I didn’t respond. Because I knew that she thinks she won this round. That we would go to Andie and sort this all out. I wish that we could do that, but this. She needed to learn how to listen. She needed to see that I am important too. 


	6. Lily 1979

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be exact, this would be set around a year after Voldemort was vanquished. Harry's birthdate hasn't changed.

When we started the treatments, they did it at home. They were simple enough at the beginning. In addition, since we had Madame Pomfrey come over, they allowed us to keep her in the place she was most comfortable. Things were looking up, and her core was responding to the potions she was taking.

“Now, are you ready?” Madame Pomfrey asked her. Jasmine laughed as she looked around at the sparks James sent into the air. I produced bubbles, making her look over at me. We tried to make her treatment fun for her. Even though we have magic, it is better to give her muggle assessments. The first being how her walking is. For this, we have her walk in a straight line. Then we check her balance. Lastly, we see if there is any pain or light-headed feeling. 

“We need to make sure her normal growth isn’t being affected by the potions.” I am told. A part of me wonders if they are lying so I don’t ask as many questions. 

“Mummy.” Her voice called to me. I looked over and saw she had an accident. I sighed softly and went to get her cleaned up. It was no big deal, we just finished potty training and she is sick. There was no surprise here. Until it began to happen regularly. Then her symptoms began to get worse. And we were back on the fourth floor. 

“Room two, your healer will be right with you.” We are told before heading up. Jasmine looked around at all the different people as we headed up to the room. There were no sick kids. Children in the wizarding world don’t get sent up here. The thought made me feel more isolated than before. As though it is our fault she is up here, even if we had no part in her being like this. 

“Mummy, I lay down?” She asks me as we enter the room. I help her onto the bed, and they see her soon. Her healer checks her spine this time, instead of her actual core. It is there they find that the mass was practically going into her spinal cord. That it had to be caused by magic. 

“We never see this.” Our healer admitted. I sighed and slouched in the chair I was sitting in. As they explained what the procedure would be like, I blanked out. I could only look at my daughter, who was giggling at the creatures on the wall. She clapped as the tiger jumped over the hay and giggled when the pigs began to play in the mud. It was as though she were watching a cartoon. Like she could be if it weren’t for magic acting strange around electricity. 

The healer explained the next treatments to me. This next one included something similar to the machine in the muggle world that takes your blood out and puts it back into your body. They will take the magic out of her core and flush it through her core again. 

“It will stimulate her core.” They explained. I wanted to ask how this would even work, but the healer was called out and the next one did her examination. Her vitals were good, her symptoms were given new potions. This time a nutrition one was added since she was rapidly losing weight from nausea. 

“Any questions?” I want to say yes. I want to ask why my three-year-old is risking her life. Instead, I shake my head and take her home, knowing that I would be taking her back in a few weeks, anyway. Still, her smile made me think everything would be fine. 

When she was having treatments, I didn’t sleep well. When I did sleep, I was plagued with visions of another child. This one looks just like James, though something was special about him. I shrugged it off though, putting it on my subconscious wanting another child because I was scared my daughter wouldn’t survive. When I didn’t sleep I watched her, making sure she was still breathing as they put the tubes in her mouth.

“It is standard procedure ma’am.” I am told. I want to tell them to bugger off. That I could do better than these experimental treatments. That my daughter was more than just a lab rat. Yet, I stayed quiet. I watched my daughter while they did their jobs. When she wanted me, I was there. When she wanted James, I was there. I couldn’t sleep when she needed someone there. Which wouldn’t be all that bad, if I had to actually shower and eat sometimes. On top of that, I had other responsibilities. I had to keep the house cleaned and buy food. Which is hard to do when you are at your daughter's bedside.

To make things worse, we had the baby to worry about. He was only one, so we couldn’t leave him alone and it was difficult when he was at the hospital with her. In a moment of desperation, we reached out to Remus. He decided he would be able to watch the baby, which was one less thing to worry about. Charlus was tended to, and I was able to focus on my daughter. Until I got sick. 

It started with me being dizzy, which I chalked up to not sleeping. When I was finally forced to sleep I noted that the symptom didn't go away. The next one was overall feeling sick. They made me go home after I puked. 

"We don't want Jasmine to get a new symptom." They told me. So I went home. The feeling didn't leave after a few days, so I ended up going back to Hogwarts and visit Poppy. She was excited to see me, after not seeing me and Jasmine for almost a month. 

"What seems to be the problem dear?" She asked, ushering me to my sickbed. I tell her what is going on and she instantly looked amused. 

"When was the last time you and James were intimate?" She asked, making me groan.

“I don’t understand how that is relevant. We are so careful.” I said to Madame Pomfrey, who rolled her eyes at me. She waved her wand and smirked. This told me what she was thinking is right. That also means my worse fears may come true.

“Lady Potter, do you have any other symptoms? Maybe food aversions, pain in your breast or even having to urinate frequently?” She asked. I nodded, those sounded right. Though I figured it was stress-related. With Jazz in and out of treatments, I was stressed enough as is. There is no way that I am, well...

“Couldn’t it be stress though?” I asked, making her shake her head. There is no way on earth I am what she is leading me to think. My symptoms could be anything. Maybe there is a wizarding version of the flu I could have.

“Congratulations, Lady Potter. You are about two months along.” She told me. I wanted to cry, both in frustration and relief. I don’t have to avoid my already sick child; however, it would look like I was replacing her. I called James that night, as he was away on an order related mission. 

“Are you sure?” He asked me. I nodded and he sighed. 

“Step back, I’ll be over in a moment.” He promised me. I did as he asked, and there he was. Right in front of me. We hugged for a few minutes, though it felt like hours. We only separated when we heard Jazz whine from the monitoring charm. 

“I’ll get her, you relax.” He whispered. I didn’t go to the couch. Instead, I listened to him humming a song to her. I could picture him swaying her in his arms. I could see her little curls plastered on her face from the cold sweat she likely woke up in. I could see her in my head, bringing me to the conclusion that we needed advice. That we needed to bring the whole situation to our mentor. He would know what to do.

The next day we went to see Dumbledore. Since it was the day of a full moon, we had to take both kids. The paintings entertained Charlus, Jasmine was squirming as I held her. Once we walked up the flight of stairs, I released our surprisingly energetic toddler. The small girl practically ran into the older man, who looked amused. 

"Who might you be?" He asked, ignoring us. She paled and ran back over to us, making the man laugh. When he saw who was standing in the doorway he smiled.

"James, Lily, what a pleasant surprise." He said joyfully. The old man flicked his wrist and a couple of toys appeared in front of Jasmine. Charlus also was given a small toy. 

"Yes sir; however, I wish it were on better terms. You see, Jazz's core is not developing much magic. In fact, it seems to be draining instead. The healers had found a mass on her core. I am worried that it may be from-well you know." I told him. His smile faltered and his eyes dimmed. 

"I see. May I have a look?" He asked. We both nodded and he waved his wand. Luckily our small daughter was preoccupied so she did not notice. He frowned again, this time it seemed to be out of concern. 

"Do you know what it is?" James asked. The older man sighed and gave a curt nod.

"I have my suspicions, though I hope I am wrong." He said. I wanted to whack him upside the head. That does nothing for us. Ideas are making her less energetic. We need results.

"Have you looked into a donor?" He asked. We both looked at each other and sighed.

"We have talked about multiple options. No one would be willing to donate a core, not that one is an option. We have no living family to donate theirs. So we are looking into a more risky option." I said, going over the magic transplant we were talking about with our healer.

"We are hoping a matching donor shows up. We aren't a match and neither is Charlus. With the new baby on the way, we haven't put much thought in a long term solution either. The healers haven't been very helpful with that." James said. Dumbledore seemed to be thinking before he spoke. I could see the twinkle in his eyes return as he looked at me.

“Would you like my advice?” Dumbledore asked. James and I nodded quickly. I glanced over to our daughter, who was still playing on the floor. Maybe he does have an idea that will work. I am willing to try anything at this point.

“Sometimes, from what I have heard, another sibling happens to be a better match.” He said. James looked doubtful.

"How can we tell this one will match?" I asked, not bringing up a time issue. 

"How far along are you?" He asked me. I tell him two months and he grins.

"The magical core is not formed until the seventh month of pregnancy. The core needs a body to form, and the magic the child takes from you creates their core. Which is why no child is the exact same as the parents. However, as you go into pregnancy, you are able to encourage the core to react in a way." He said. James and I glace at each other and smiled. This would solve one problem at least. We could bring it up at the very least. I could tell that James was thinking about the same thing. I wanted to talk to him about it first. Just to see if it is ethical. Messing with nature like this.

“We should at least try.” I hear myself saying before I could think. James nodded in agreement. 

“If this could save her, then I am willing to try.” He said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, I can post on a schedule :) Winter break has arrived for this college student and your regularly scheduled program has returned.


	7. Andromeda July 3rd

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Holiday you guys here is your update a day early.

Family is everything in the wizarding world. Who you are related to can either bring you to the top or sink you below ground. When I was disowned I decided to get as far away from my family's ideals as possible. This meant having a half-blood for a child and going into muggle politics. I had been on my way to becoming a muggle lawyer. I was still in classes, and far from certified. However, I knew enough to understand any law that was passed and anything that may help in this case. I was creating his case when Harry had run into my office. 

"Harry, what are you doing here?" I asked, not expecting a visit so soon. He sighed and sat in the chair. Before he could answer, I heard a bell from the fireplace. This told me that I was awaiting a call. Much to my surprise, Lily Potter's face was in my fireplace. The look on Harry’s face told me that he knew what was coming and that I wouldn’t like it. 

“Lady Potter, what do I owe the pleasure?” I asked. The woman on the other end sighed and closed her eyes. Clearly she was not happy, and from how Harry was hiding from the fireplace, she didn’t know he was here. 

“I want you to drop the case.” She said clearly. I glanced over at Harry and he glared at the fireplace. 

“Have you filed a response?” I asked, as though she hadn’t just said what she had. Lily sighed and shook her head.

“No, I spoke with Harry about the issue. He decided that he will do what he can to help Jasmine.” She said. I could see Harry in the corner of my eye and he does not seem happy with what was being said either. 

“Is that so?” I asked. When she didn’t respond I straightened my shoulders.

“I am afraid that I will be unable to resign the case without my client's verbal confirmation. Do you happen to know where he is?” I asked. She shook her head. 

“Sirius took him out and then he went on a run.” She said. I nodded in understanding. 

“I will be seeing you at the ministry this afternoon then.” I said. Once she responded we both left the fire call. 

“Is there something you wanted to tell me?” I asked the boy. He backed away and looked at his shoes. 

“No.” He said. I sighed, knowing he heard everything. 

“Harry, I cannot have you playing games. Now I completely understand why you would decide to not press charges. You have to tell me though.” I said. He looked up at me, giving me a chilling look again.

“As long as you are willing to represent me, I am willing to press charges.” He said. For a small moment. I actually forgot he was only ten years old. That he is only a child. Yet he seemed much more grown-up than some adults. It was almost scary. Though it was also undeniable that he was telling me the truth.

“Can you explain what happened then, because I need to know. If she comes in with some story, I need a rebuttal.” I tell him.

"I tried to tell her that I was serious. She wouldn't listen. She never listens." He said. I nodded and grabbed his hand. 

"Okay, now here is what will happen." I tell him. We go over what to expect in the room and I send him on is way. Once he left, I went to the ministry to get checked in. Then I headed to the offices where the judges were stationed. I was there for maybe five minutes before I saw Lily and Harry walking up. Harry looked very out of place in the ministry. Lily looked frustrated beyond relief. Before long we were told we could wait inside, but Harry was to wait until he is called. 

Lily sighed as she walked into the room alongside me. We both sat in front of the desk, refusing to look at one another.

“I still don’t understand why you are helping him.” Lily huffed. I sighed, looking at the younger woman. 

“Because he needs someone on his side for once.” I tell her, my words firm. As the words left my mouth, Madame Bones walked into the room, holding a folder. 

“Sorry I am late, Susan has a fever and I needed to make sure it went down.” She said, not looking at us until she sat at her desk.

“Now ladies, would you like to fill me in on what we are doing here today?” She asked. Lily nodded firmly, her eyes shining with determination. 

“Mrs. Potter’s son, Harry, wishes to become medically emancipated.” I responded. The woman fixed my posture as I spoke, presenting myself as a professional. 

“There is no wizarding or muggle law that allows that. There may be legal emancipation in the United States; however, the law there states fourteen being the age.” Lily shot back, obviously, she had been studying her law. Madame Bone’s nodded along, from what it seemed she was showing that she was in fact listening. 

“I am aware of the law Lady Potter. I am also aware that in muggle Britain there are cases for ‘consent to treatment’ which can be applied here.” Madame Bones replied. Lily did not appear to be happy at these words.

“She is still trying to get you to change the law. That case is for sixteen and seventeen-year-olds and can be overruled in some cases. He is ten years old. He can’t decide what he wants for breakfast most mornings.” Lily stressed. 

“Lady Tonks, what exactly are you here for?” I handed her a folder, leading Lily to do the same.

“I am here as Harry’s charter of rights to present witnesses for his case. After all, as lady Potter has stressed, he is a minor. I also request a limited temporary removal of parental rights. At least until the case is over.” I requested. 

“The defense is looking for summary dismissal?” She asked, raising an eyebrow to Lily. The redhead nodded, slouching back into her chair. The dark circles under her eyes were visible.

“Today if possible, again he is ten. He can’t possibly understand what he wants or what is even going on.” She sighed. Madame Bones gave her a look before looking over to the other woman present. 

“Lady Tonks?” She asked. 

“I am only looking at the best interest of Harry.” I said. Madame Bones nodded and placed the folders on her desk.

“I will need to speak to Harry before I make a decision.” She declared. 

“Madame Bones, I was hoping that we wouldn’t bring Harry into this. I mean he is only a child.” Lily said, looking shocked. Whether it was because the other woman was actually considering the case or the fact that she wasn’t getting her way, well that is for anyone to guess. 

“Lady Potter, you are claiming that he doesn’t understand what he is doing. I need to explain to him or see what he does know.” She said. Lily sighed, leaving the room along sides me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you will be getting the next chapter tomorrow. That is mostly since this chapter was so short. Again, Happy Holidays guys!


	8. Harry

I imagine my funeral a lot. When you live in a family that death looms over, it tends to come up. I don’t think anyone would go to my funeral. Well, that is a lie. My uncle Sirius would come. He might bring his girlfriend. Uncle Remus might come too, and my cousin Andie with her family. Though, they would be the only ones who willingly come. I can see my teachers throwing a small funeral at my school. Hermione would be sad, and maybe some of the other students. That would be it. Mum wouldn’t come unless Jasmine was feeling better. Dad might visit when he gets off work. Charlus would come if someone dragged him along. Other than them, no one. 

If Jasmine died though, everyone would be there. There would be people dressed nice and would speak sweet words about her. How she was the light of the ward on floor four. How she was a great student when she wasn’t sick. Family, healers, and professors alike would come. I can imagine some guy would talk about how he wished he could have had the courage to ask her out when he had the chance. That would just be the private funeral. 

The entire wizarding world would have a memorial. Shrines and speeches would be made in her honor. The entire wizarding Europe would celebrate the Girl-Who-Lived. It would be the front page of every paper.

“What happened?” I asked Andie, who gave me a reassuring smile.

“It will be fine.” She said. My mum glared at her, making me want to run and hide.

“I would like some time to speak with my client.” Andie requested. Mum glared at her. She still thought she was trying to help me. That was scarier than my original theory. 

The older woman they had been talking to then walked out and ushered me in, not giving me the time to talk to either of them. The woman looked formal, though her demeanor said she was less strict than she looked. With the way her hair was pulled back told me that she had a long morning. I remembered that she was raising her niece, so that was probably it. At the same time, her collar was straight and ironed. That meant she was professional. 

I tried to find more information about her before she made me talk. When I couldn't find any she smiled softly at me.

"Hello Harry, I am Amelia Bones." She introduced. I recognized the name, she was the woman my aunt was trying to get to cover my case. She is known to be fair enough. I shook her hand before sitting down in the chairs. I noticed that there were coloring books in the office and tissues. That meant Susan was here often enough. That also meant that she didn't deal with children in court that often.

"Will there be a trial?" I asked her. She looked shocked by the question. I figured that she expected a child who had no idea what was being done. 

"It depends, if your parents agree then there won't be a need for one." She said. I sighed, knowing that it would never be that easy. After all, I am ten. In any world, there would be no chance of me being allowed to make my own decisions. 

"If not, then we will have one. In this case, you have already requested to be emancipated. So, it is likely a trial will follow." She explained. I sighed, placing my face into my hands. This would take a while, and my plans on going to Hogwarts seemed so out of reach it was ridiculous. 

"How long will the case last?" I asked her. She sighed and looked around.

"Again, depends on how your parents react. This can be done in six weeks or it can be done in a few days." She said. I nodded and looked around again. Begging for something to be there so I can take my attention off of her. I needed the distraction to stop the overwhelming sense of guilt I felt. No one deserved this case, yet here they are. Forced in the middle of it.

I tried to hold it together, knowing that if I cry then she will see me for what I am. A scared child who has no idea what he wants. Yet, she seemed to be taking this seriously. I smiled softly as she pulled out a cup, pouring water into it.

"Would you like anything?" She asked. I shook my head, thinking back to the time that Jasmine told me about spilling water all over her pants to get out of class. Apparently she was in her potions class when their professor continued to insult a student. So she spilled some water on her pants and fell to the floor. She screamed loudly to get his attention and once he looked over at her she began to shake. She told me that a student swore she was having a seizure. Though, I remember that case vividly. It was the first time they tried to borrow from my core twice in a year. This time sent me to the hospital for almost a month. My father visited as often as he could and my mum visited once.

"I am sorry baby, your sister needed me with her." Mum whispered as she petted my hair, hours before I was being released. I sighed and curled in my bed. I wanted to stay. Maybe if they saw a functioning core that was producing magic, it could help my sister. 

After that trip, I didn't want to donate for a while. That decision didn't last long since a year later I was back in the room. Different healers on my case though. They didn't want to risk the problem happening again. I briefly wonder if I would get the same healers this time. I hoped not, I hoped to never see one again.

"Harry?" I was called back to reality. I felt tears beguine to flow as I shook. 

"I can't do it again. It might kill me." I sniffled. She handed me a tissue and I blew my nose, trying to compose myself. She gave me a look of pity before handing me another tissue.

"You know, there is no healer or doctor in the world who would operate on you if you tell them no." She tried. I shook my head and glanced at my lap.

"No, being scared and telling them no. It is apart of the procedure. Not only that but mum and dad, they sign off on it. They tell them to go ahead. It isn't my choice." I tell her. She sighed and glanced over.

"What they are doing, it isn't right. In muggle Britain, this would be against the law." I heard her whisper. She then looked back at me and gave me a reassuring smile. 

"I will assign you a temporary guardian. Just until the case is over." She told me. I sighed in relief as she called my mum and aunt back in. 

"Here is what we are going to do. Harry will be given a temporary guardian. This guardian will come to visit with him until the court date." She told them. 

"Your honor, If I may, I do not think it would be wise to keep Harry in the same home as his opponent. She may try to convince him to drop all charges." Aunt Andromeda tried. My mum did not look happy about this.

"Are you asking for her to take my child away from me? She has no grounds for that." My mother cried, clearly furious. I have never seen my mother look like that. Madame Bones sighed and shook her head.

"I am not authorized to remove him from the home." She said, she then glanced at her papers before looking at my mum.

"You will not talk to him about the case. Is that clear?" She asked her. My mum huffed and nodded, grabbing my hand as we left the room. I saw dad walking over to us, a bag in his hand. It is clear that he went out to get us food, though, from the way my mum sounded, it may be a while before we eat. 

The trip home was a nightmare. Since we had to leave the ministry first, it took a while to get to a point where we could even get home. I stayed quiet as my mum led me to the exit. I didn't even have the time to say goodbye to my aunt Andie. As she tried to find her way out of the hospital she managed to get lost. It wasn't until dad catch up did we find the way to the exit. When we reached the point where my mum got her wand back she grabbed onto my hand and we were soon home. My sister looked shocked at how furious my mother was. Dad appeared soon after, looking shocked. The bag of food still in hand. 

The parents left the room quickly and I followed the two of them to the kitchen and dining room area. Dad set the food on the table and mum began searching for a cup in the cabinets. Jasmine and Remus entered the room, though Remus left as soon as he saw mum. Charlus came into the room as well, wanting to see the commotion. 

"What happened?" My sister asked. No one said a word, not knowing how to answer. Mum grabbed plates and slammed them down on the table, making me jump. My mother glared at me, as though she was daring me to even speak. I decided it was not the time to battle, it was the time to stop casualties from the war.

"Not so high and mighty now that you aren't in front of the judge." She scoffed. I didn't respond. If If I spoke, she would be mad. If I stay silent, I am proving her point. I am not sure which one is better. 

"Why did Harry talk to a judge?" Charlus asked from the door, I had almost forgotten he was there. Mum didn't seem to notice that he was there before, yet she wasn't above directing her anger towards him.

"Get out of here, this has nothing to do with you." She said. He sighed and ran past her, ignoring all of us. I could hear him slam the door to his bedroom. No one commented on him leaving and my sister went into the kitchen to get water. I sat on the chair closest to the door. Mum was still fuming, declaring that this was not the time to talk.

"Lily, we need to calm down." Dad tried. She was not happy with the response at all. Her glare was now directed at him and she looked like a harpy. Her eyes were full of anger and it was reflected in how she spoke. A part of me wishes that I could stop her from taking her anger out on everyone. The other part of me is happy to be ignored.

"Calm down? Our son practically signed away his sister's life and you want me to calm down?!" She yelled, shocking us all. Jasmine dropped her cup, revealing that she was there to the parents.

"No, Jasmine I didn't mean that." Mum said, but the damaged had been done. 

"I'm going to die?" Jasmine asked. Mum looked horrified as my sister ran away, I could see the tears in her eyes. Mum ran after her, and I ran outside and didn't stop until I reached the church. Once I was there I snuck inside and bowed my head. Praying that I was doing the right thing. That this was my only option. That no one got taken out during this fight. Even then, I knew the last part was not an option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not late, it is eleven where I am. Also, I am implying that Hermione and Harry went to the same muggle school if you haven't figured that one out :)


	9. Charlus

I started fighting with the neighborhood kids when I was five. Harry was too little in my mind at the time and my sister was off-limits. I learned that one the hard way. When Harry turned five I constantly picked on him. I pinched his arms and pushed him around. My parents suddenly got concerned and moved him out of our room. I went back to fighting the neighborhood kids again. I was nine when they brought me into the club. 

“It’s a place where guys like us can get out our aggression, you know?” The leader said. I agreed to show up, it’s not like my parents would notice. I was supposed to be their easy child, the one they didn't need to notice. Now they will tell anyone I am their troubled child. Jasmine is sick, so she can’t be. Harry is the mediator of the family most of the time. I once thought I was adopted, it would make sense. That is until I stole dad's wand right before I went to school.

“Hey Harry, watch this.” I said. The raven-haired boy looked up at me and I levitated a book.

“Can you use that to throw something?” He asked. I smirked and tossed the book across the library. He only grinned and asked if he could try. If I am adopted, so is he, and he looks way too much like dad to deny their relationship. 

Granted, we all know why Harry is here. Now more than ever, and it is causing more problems.

I heard yelling downstairs, which meant that I would be expected to stay still for longer than normal. I decided to take that as my queue to leave, going back to my old group. After Hogwarts, I found that magic was much more satisfying to scratch that itch. The need to take my aggression out lessened when I used magic. Maybe this is why Jasmine and I aren’t a match. She is pure and I am stained. 

~MSK~

It was a new guy every day. I would slip out the window and climb down the tree near the roof of my house. Once I was a good block away, I would run across the cemetery and the guys would already be there. They would always be in a circle and two people would be beating the shit out of each other in the center. It was like a muggle dueling club, but much different. 

“It’s Potter.” One of them would say as I walked over to them. My shirt was already shoved in whatever bag I decided to bring, and I would jump in. Taking the place of whatever scrawny new kid they picked up. They are always thankful, not knowing what they were getting into. I don’t tell them that I am doing it for me. 

“You can do better than that Potter.” One of the guys yells. I swing, hitting his jaw. The guy stumbles back and I take the chance to tackle him down. I keep throwing punches, getting many back in return. I could easily see the fear in newcomer's eyes. I hope that they will never come back. My hopes are pointless though. I see the glint behind the tallest kid’s eyes. He would come back, and there is nothing I can do to stop him. Blood in and blood out, but there is no coming out swinging. He would learn that soon enough. 

“Potter, off.” I am told. I look down and see that I have blood on my hands. I sighed, wiping my hands on the grass below me. The look on this guy’s face reminds me of the look on my mother's when I came home after the first time. 

I had been initiated, there was no one willing to take me out and finish the fight for me. The guy they selected was one of their senior members. I didn’t find out about that until I went back the next day.

“You sure about this kid?” I heard a boy ask, he was no older than my sister. The older guy nodded and pushed me into the circle. I don’t remember the fight. The last I remember of it was the leader pulling the other guy off of me. I walked home, blood matted in my hair. I had a broken wrist, and mum rushed me to the healer. 

“Who did this to you?” She asked. I told her it was some guy and it was nothing. The next few times I had only come back with bruises and minor cuts. It only took three serious damage for mum to learn basic healing spells. Now she just flicks her wand to heal a broken bone. I figured it was because Jasmine took a turn for the worst. 

“You good Potter?” The voice of the guy I just beat the crap out of asked. I shook my head, this was not something I could keep to myself. 

“Is she getting worse?” I nodded, letting my head fall back. I heard some sympathetic noises. I know this would only solidify that kid staying. I don’t care, it doesn’t matter anymore. 

“Go home Potter, let us know what’s happening next time.” I am told. So I drag myself down the road. This is a picture that had happened so often, it was almost muscle memory. Every time I come home, I am worse for wear. The last time I came home on a bad day, I had sent the guy to the hospital. It was a new kid and it was when Harry had been in the hospital for three days. I walked out with a broken tooth, he had a broken wrist and a concussion. When I got home after that time dad was furious. He went on and on about how my magic could have killed the kid. Mum was stony-faced as she fixed my tooth and the rest of the wounds I had gotten.

"I don't understand why you do this." She whispered as she took away my cuts. She would leave the bruises behind. I once heard her tell dad that it was her way of punishing my behavior. 

I winced when I saw that the front door was opened. That meant Harry had run out to the church. I walked around the house, finding my tree with ease. It didn’t occur to me that I could have easily gone through the door. That no one would be there to see. Dad probably went to find Harry or got called back in for work. Still, up the tree I went, and back into the attic I had to go.

The house was quiet. That was not normal after a fight. I quickly washed my face, luckily there were only a couple of bruises and all the blood was from the other guy. I was about to head back to my room when I heard my mother sobbing from downstairs. 

"Lily what's- Jazz! Now is not the time to do this." Dad said, his voice carried throughout the house. I heard a thump, telling me that someone fell to the floor. Mum's cries continued and I could hear dad running down the hall. The loud footsteps come to a complete stop and the sound of something hitting the hard floor echoed through the house. 

"James, call a healer. We can't get her to the hospital in time." She said. I hear dad popping away and mum's cries worsen. I tiptoe down the stairs and glance over the railing to see mum holding onto my sister. She looked like she was spazzing on the floor, that is when I knew it might be the end for her. We suspected it, but this was new. The spazzing, in the muggle world seizures, wasn't a good thing. Especially when they start out of nowhere. 

"Charlus, go find your brother." Mum ordered me when she noticed I was on the staircase. I quickly ran out of our home and down the road. I knew where he would be, it is where he always is during these times. Still, I took my time so mum wouldn't be suspicious. I didn't want his secret hiding spot to be discovered. Once I reached the church, I waited to go in. Harry might be mad and it was never fun when he lost his temper. Sometimes I wonder who's temper he got. Jasmine claimed mum's.

"If he had red hair, he would look just like her when he is mad." She said. I disagree. When Harry gets mad, he looked like dad. His eyes darken and he tends to throw things. Mum is never violent when she is mad. She will scream and threaten to hex you, but she never does. Dad will send the hex without the warning. 

"You can come in." Harry whispered. This tells me he was never mad. He was depressed. He gets that from uncle Remus. The hiding while depressed thing, not actual depression. That came from the situation. We all were depressed, or angry. Harry and Mum were both. 

"She is having a seizure." I tell him. He just looks past me, as though he is looking for her. Harry then looked back at me. I don't like that I see relief in his eyes. Even if I knew that death would be the best thing for her.

"So this is it huh? This might be the last stretch?" He asked me. I shrugged and began to walk towards the house. I glance behind me and saw that he was following behind. 

"I don't know." I tell him. If I were being honest, I would say he hit the nail on the head. There was no turning back now since she might not live if we give her the next treatment. I didn't notice that Harry hadn't come with me. Mum didn't either since she took one look at me before the healer came by. I didn't recognize this one, but they took their wands and stopped the seizure before apparating away with her. Mum grabbed my arm and took me along with her. It didn't take long for the healer in charge of my sister's case to come by to our room.

"He was right." The healer said. I had no idea what was going on, but my parents seemed to know. Mum brought her hands up to her mouth.

"It's a-" Mum started and the healer nodded, giving her a sympathetic look.

"It's a Horcrux." He said, not caring that I was in the room. Dad looked horrified and mum looked distraught. 

"We can try to remove it, but it would be dangerous. There are only muggle procedures unless we want to risk killing your daughter." He said. Mum looked as though she might kill him for suggesting such a thing. 

"What is a Horcrux?" I asked. They all paled when they noticed I was still there. Mum and dad gave each other a look I can't read. The healer looked helpless as he stared at them. He did seem to decide he was the best option to explain.

"It is the object that hosts someone's soul. Your sister, in this case, is the Horcrux. However, the soul is the issue here." He explained. I nodded and looked away. There was something they weren't telling me. Yet I can almost put the pieces together on my own. When I looked over, I saw my sister's face. She didn't look shocked. Instead, she mouthed words to me. I tried to understand them, but I was too frustrated to make them out on my own. 

"Tell Harry." She finally signed to me. Which made me more confused. Tell Harry what? That she was dying? He already knew that. Tell him it's a Horcrux? He won't know what that is. Tell him that we were right? That this is the end? I know that she won't ever be given the time to explain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so would you guy's rather two chapters a week or how things are now? Let me know in the comments.


	10. Lily 1980

The timing of my pregnancy was a coincidence. Jasmine getting sick was not planned, nor was this baby. My friend Alice getting pregnant at the same time, an even bigger coincidence. While she found it great, after all our children were bound to be best friends, I thought that the universe was punishing me. What I am doing, it isn’t ethical. We are questioned constantly about why we are having another child. Friends give us sympathy. They think that we are mourning. The secret of what we are actually doing burns inside me when we play along. In a moment of weakness, I told my sister. She told me that I was playing god. 

“Your child dying was meant to happen. Saving her with the next freak will send you to hell.” She said in her letters. I chose to ignore her. She would do the same thing if her precious son were dying. Plus, I didn’t genetically clone her for another set of parts. I would have had him regardless of my oldest getting sick. This was a coincidence. A coincidence that worked out well for me. That worked out for Alice, who needed a friend during this. For her child, who would gain a friend. For James, to have another son. It worked out for everyone. This is what I tell myself in my head as Alice talks to me about her cousin's new baby. 

“He looks just like his brothers. I don’t know how she does it.” Alice laughed. I smiled, leaning into the park bench. We were about eight months pregnant at the time and both of us needed to get out of the house. So she decided to meet in a park, for the fresh air. 

“I think she wants a girl.” I laughed, wincing internally about my daughter. Maybe if we made sure the baby was a girl it may work better. 

“I don’t know. She is like you, you know. Red hair and popping out babies early.” She laughed, making me wince. I know her cousin is busy. However, being compared didn’t sit well. 

“I mean, look at you. Baby number three and you aren’t even twenty-five yet.” She laughed. I rolled my eyes and looked back at her. Her face was still free of lines and she looked as though she was still ready to face the world. Her blonde hair framed her face as she grinned and her big eyes seemed less clouded lately. It was a nice change. 

“Oh, I’m not trying to offend. I think that’s pretty neat.” She assured me. I laughed and pushed her shoulder. This was nice. Being out here was nice.

“So what about you? Baby number one is a big change. Are you and Frank ready for it?” I asked. She nodded, laughing to herself. She and I had the same due date, though the likelihood of us giving birth on the same day was unlikely. It was pretty much any moment now since we are out of the danger zone for premature babies. 

“Yeah, we just found out our peanut is a boy. What about you and James? Do you know the gender yet?" She asked. I nodded and sighed, I forgot she didn’t know.It was hard not telling her that my son had a deeper purpose than just coming. If I were being honest, I wanted to stop at two. If it weren’t for Jasmine, well I am not sure I would have kept him. I know it would have killed me to give him away. However, with Jasmine, well she needed to be able to defend herself. She saved the wizarding world. She needs to save herself now.

“A boy.” I chirped. Alice smiled softly and began to talk about how excited she was. How she and Frank were going to name him after his grandfather. I listened to her rambles and gave her an affectionate smile. It almost hurt that I didn’t have a name for him. The thought never came to mind and I certainly didn’t feel as attached to him as I did the other two. I still did everything right, taking the correct potions and eating healthy. That was the extent of it. No looking at baby books. No sonograms other than the two. Nada, nothing. Jasmine was in the hospital so often.

We continued to talk about her son and her cousin's baby. I didn’t realize how much time had past until Alice pointed it out.

“Oh, Frank requested that I meet him for lunch.” She said, making me laugh. She was always so bright. I helped her stand up and she waved goodbye as she waddled away. I began my journey back home, lost in thought about what had just happened. 

That night James and I put up the nursery. The crib was put in place and James painted the walls. There were designs to replicate the Hogwarts quidditch pitch. There were goals and brooms painted across the walls. A giant golden snitch was in the center of the wall across from his dresser. I never would have taken James as the painter type. He still surprised me now.

“He will play quidditch.” He declared. I rolled my eyes, not wanting to admit that I had never thought about who he would be. Would he like books or sports. Would he look like James or me. The same thoughts I had about the other two. I wondered if Alice helped Frank put up their nursery. If she spent hours coming up with every possibility of how her son would look. If Alice had the same worries I did when I was pregnant with Jasmine. I sincerely hoped she never had to worry for her son's life. That she would never have to go through this pain. 

“Lily, we need to go!” James yelled, telling me that it was not the time to think about our son. That my thoughts on Alice needed to leave my mind. Our daughter needed me now. 

Shortly after this event Jasmine was in and out of the hospital frequently. Through test and other means of potential therapies that might not need any form of surgery. After all, wizards were not fond of the idea of cutting anyone open. Which weirdly made sense to me. If they had no real way of looking at a person's inside in a safe way. I wouldn’t trust others opening me up. Also, since magic is a thing, I guess they could spell or potion their way out of problems. Until my child, I never thought about this. How would they get a mass out of someone.

"Lady Potter, we are looking into muggle means of taking the mass out. Though we need to see if it is solid or not." They said, proving me wrong. This confused me on multiple accounts. It’s a mass, doesn’t that mean solid. Also, why can’t they do this in a safer way? How would they stitch her up when they are done? What is even in her? Instead, I agreed with the procedure and went back to my daughter's room.

Jasmine was well behaved during all of this, or as well behaved a toddler can be. She sat still when needed and hardly cried. The healers called her brave, I didn't want to tell them how scared she is before they entered the room. On top of that James and I were terrified. There was the issue with not knowing what is wrong with our child. There also was the issue of James being called out constantly with new death eater activity. I found out why a few days after my due date.

"It was Alice and Frank. They were attacked." James whispered when he came home one day after work. 

I was in shock. Alice and Frank had been tortured to the point of insanity. It had happened hours after their son was born. I had seen her only days before. At least that is what I thought. In reality, it was closer to a few weeks. I wasn't given that much time to process it since I went into labor a few hours later. 

James and Sirius started to joke about how I should cross my legs and let him be born in August. James did it because the mood needed to be lightened. I had glared at them and went back to packing my hospital bag. Jasmine was already there since the healers were removing the mass before they gave her the cells to repair her core. 

We got in relatively quickly and the birth itself lasted around half an hour. James made sure they took care of the placenta as I was checked over. We didn't stay with him after he was born. Instead, we went straight to the observation window of our daughter's room. James and I sighed as we watched the procedure. The healer had his umbilical cord. The procedure didn’t take long, and Jasmine slept right through it. We hoped it would take right away. That it was only the cells she needed to form the tap fully. That the mass would never come back. A small part of us knew though, the damn Potter luck never helped out with us.


	11. Molly (Present day)

I was in the kitchen when I got the call. Ron had been sent upstairs because he was fighting with Ginny. Ginny, on the other hand, was sitting on the stairs for breaking Fred-no George’s screaming Yo-Yo. I wasn’t actually mad at her for it, though I couldn’t let her think she could get away with breaking things. The twins were up in their room, the explosion sounds confirmed it. 

“Mum, there is a lady in the fireplace asking for you.” I heard from the living room. I set down my book, leaving it face down, before heading over to the fireplace. That is when I saw the familiar face of Madame Bones. I smiled slightly and crouched down so she could see me. 

“Hello Amelia, how is Susan?” I asked her, assuming this was on friendly terms. She smiled softly at me before shaking her head. This told me that it was not what I saw earlier.

“She is doing well, though I am afraid this is a business call.” She informed me. I frowned slightly at the tone of her voice. It wasn’t often I got business calls. The last time was when she needed me to watch Susan because of a late-night court session. 

“What is it?” I asked. She sighed and looked around, as though she was searching for any reason not to tell me. There were many thoughts running through my head. Is one of my older children in trouble? Did something happen to Arthur?

“I need you to be a temporary guardian for The Potter’s youngest son, Harry. I know it is last minute, but you have children around his age.” She explained. I sighed and nodded fiercely, it may be a tad bit of a squeeze; however, if a young boy needed help, then I could do it. I started a mental list of things I would need to move around for this.

“What do you need me to do?” I asked. She went on to explain how I would go and talk to Harry, then his family and Andromeda Black. Andromeda was going to represent him in court, which was almost unheard of. I glanced back at my clock and wished her well before going off to find my oldest in the house.

“Percy, I need to head out for a few hours. Can you watch the children?” I called. I heard a yes and I apparated to the Potter’s current estate. 

When I got there, I was in awe. The house was much smaller than I imagined, though now that I thought about it this was likely their hiding home. Regardless of the size, the house was stunning. Their yard was lovely, with flowers planted around the walkway. The house was two stories, though it might have been three with what looked to be an attic. As I walked up the walkway, I realized that I hadn’t heard anything. There were no lights on in the house and it was absent of the usual noise I have grown accustomed to.

I walk over to the door and knock. Surprisingly no one answered. Which was strange, from what I knew, Lily didn't work. All the children should be home since they were all on holiday. I tried knocking once more before I turned to leave. When I did, I saw a young boy walking up the road. His hair was messy and he was rather scrawny. His knees were wobbly and he seemed exhausted. 

"Are you Harry?" I asked as he unlatched the gate. The boy looked up at me, and I saw that his eyes were a lovely shade of green. Defiantly the shade of green Lily Potter was known for.

"Depends on who's asking." He said, looking around. I sighed and pulled out my wand. 

"I am Molly Weasley. I was sent to go visit you by Madame Bones." I said. He nodded and looked around, frowning. 

"I can see you are a witch, but some kid almost got kidnapped a couple weeks ago." He said, looking nervous. I should be happy that he is protecting himself, Merlin knows that I wish my children were less trusting. 

"Well, would some stranger tell you that I am the guardian that she sent to visit?" I asked. From what I knew, this was to be kept hush hush until the trials started. He nodded and looked up at me.

"I guess not." He said, giving me a soft smile. There was no way this child was doing this out of nowhere. The way he examined everything he saw, it looked as though he was taking everything in before his next move. If I were to sort him, a Slytherin he would be. With that, he probably had a Gryfindor in him somewhere. It took bravery to go against your family. Especially when it came to taking them to court.

"So, where is everyone?" He asked. That was concerning, his family left without their ten-year-old. That wouldn't be an issue if it were for a few minutes I presumed. They didn't tell him where they were going? That couldn't be right.

"I was hoping you would tell me." I said genitally. He sighed and looked around. A look of understanding entered his eyes as he took a look at the front door. 

"They might have taken her to the hospital." He said. He didn't look all that worried, which told me that something was off. St. Mungos is not for a scratch, it is for dangerous ailments. 

"Do you want to go somewhere?" I asked him. Harry gave me a confused look before nodding. I smiled before grabbing his hand and popping away. I decided that it would be nice for him to be around people his own age. So I went back to my house. 

The burrow was nice enough and we had things for them to do. Ron and Ginny met me at the door, both ranting about something the other did. Ginny noticed Harry first. 

"Who's this?" She asked, moving in front of me to get a better look at him. Ron smiled when he saw that Harry was a boy. 

"This is Harry, I am helping Madame Bones with a case." I said. Ron didn't seem all that interested but Ginny began to ask me more questions than I could answer. I humored the girl as I lead Harry into the Burrow. He seemed interested in the structure, with how his home was this must be different. 

"I was thinking we talk first, then you can go off and hang out with the boys." I said. He nodded and sat at the kitchen table. 

"So, what do you like to do?" I asked, hoping to spark a conversation. Instead, he shrugged, looking out the window.

"I play football, well used to." He said, not meeting my eye. I furrowed my eyebrows, not knowing the sport. I assume that it is a sport anyways. 

"Football?" I asked. He laughed and looked at me. His smile was barely there, though I could see that he was happy with my response.

"It is a muggle sport. You kick a ball around on a field, trying to get it to another goal. I can't really play anymore. Since I am about to go to Hogwarts. Not that I would be able to if I wasn't. Since I am in and out of the hospital."He said. I sighed when I saw his frown come back. It was interesting though, how much he thought it through. 

"What about friends?" I asked. He looked up and I swore I saw annoyance flashing across his face.

"No one wants to go to the house of someone who has an overbearing mother. I can't go over though, it's not fair to them. Not that mum would let me, Jazz might need me." He said. I sighed, looking around. I didn't how to get him to open up. He was like a clam, not letting anyone or anything inside. 

"Do you want to tell me about your sister?" I asked. He looked up and nodded. Strange, my children would rather degnome the garden than talk about each other. 

"She has this thing on her core. So I donate my magic. It isn't working though, and the thing on her core is now starting to latch onto her spinal cord." He said. I had no idea what to tell him. I knew why he wanted to stop, but at the same time, I was worried about his sister. The backlash would be horrible for him if he let her go through it. However, every adult would turn on his mother for what she is putting him through. The situation is messy at best. 

"Do you want to go hang out with the boys?" I asked him. He nodded and shot up, heading to where he heard my sons. I smiled sadly since I couldn't say I wouldn't do the same things for my kids. If one of them got as sick as her, I have no idea what I would do. It was a hard call. So I can't crucify her for her choices. If she didn't try everything, was she even a mother?

I headed up the stairs and peeked through the door and saw Harry with Ron and the twins. They had cards on the ground and were laughing. Harry had a large smile on his face as he laughed. His cheeks were light pink. Fred patted him on the shoulder, looking amused. I left them to it, there was no telling how much he needed this. It hurt me when an hour past and I had to take Harry home. I decided to apparate to the church, thinking that we could talk some more. That didn't happen at first. 

The two of us started the short walk in silence. It didn't look like he wanted to talk. His eyes were trained on their home. Still, we needed to speak. 

"Have you talked to your parents about this?" I asked him, breaking the silence. He stopped looking at his house, instead, his eyes were now on his feet. He tightened his fist if his nails were longer I'd be worried about him breaking skin. I could tell it was taking everything for him not to bolt away. 

"No, not that I haven't tried. Dad is never home and I can't exactly tell my mum about this. She would have flipped. Whenever I said anything, I got the parent response." He said. 

"The parent response?" I asked, not knowing what he was talking about. 

"You know, the whole: 'I understand that you are scared. However, we know that this will be fine. You are doing so well, one more time won't hurt'. They don't even give me a choice when they ask. They know the answer." He said. I sighed, thinking back to my children again. They were parents first. However, they are both kid's parents. I didn't get the chance to ask another question when I saw a young woman rushing out of the house. 

"Harry! Where have you been?" Lily yelled as soon as Harry began to walk up the pathway. She was defiantly living up to her image. Despite the fact, she was only an inch or two taller than me. The look in her eyes said she was furious. Her lips were thin and her eyes were squinted as she began to pull Harry by the arm to the house.

"I apologize lady Potter. I had thought it would be easier to take him back to my home while we chatted. Since no one was here when I arrived, I didn't want to leave him alone." I said. She took one look at me before her fierce glare turned into a pleasant smile.

"Oh, Molly. I didn't see you there. Thank you for bringing him home." She said. I could tell that something had happened. That she was trying to hold it together. 

"No problem. I was hoping I could talk to you though. Since it was an order and all." I laughed, trying to ease the situation. 

"Oh, maybe another time. Jasmine got sick again and I really need to be with family. I am sorry for wasting your time. This case will blow over soon." She laughed. I shook my head and sighed, this was not going well. She was not saying something, then again, so was Harry. He was not the same boy I spent the afternoon with anymore. Instead, he was a shell of that boy.

“I am sure you were only trying to do your job. However, we need to go.” She said. I sighed and looked at Harry, who did not look happy at all. He shrunk into himself as he was ushered into the house. The boy waved at me before his mother closed the door. 

Two things went through my head as I walked to the apparition point. One is that there was no way I was given the entire situation. The other is that if Harry lived at home, how would he not be swayed by his mum. I sighed before apparating to the Tonks’s house. Once I was there I knocked on the door, only to be met by my second oldest son’s friend.

“Dora, nice to see you again. Is your mother home?” I asked. She nodded and led me inside. Andromeda Tonks was in her office and was not all that surprised to see me.

“I take it that you were selected?” She asked once I entered the room. 

“Yes, though I wonder why she didn’t remove him.” I sighed. Andromeda looked at me with understanding. 

“Well, I do think that we should start the conversation we need to have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we now have all the players involved. I'm not going to give much away, but I am letting you know her chapters will be the ones to look closely at. At least for subtle hints for how this will play out when the court case comes into play. 
> 
> With that, now that we have everyone introduced which character's perspective do you guys like reading the most?
> 
> Also, I'm sorry this is late. My friend and I missed our bus so we had to stay at our school for another hour. I didn't get home until pretty late last night.


	12. Andromeda

When I got home from the ministry Ted had been home already. The two of us instantly headed to my office and closed the door. This told Dora that we were talking. 

"How was it?" He asked me as soon as I sat down. I jumped into what had happened, how Lily decided to represent herself. He let me go on until I finally got it all out of my system.

"How was your day?" I then asked, letting him know I was done. Ted smiled as he told me about work that day.This was nice since I hadn’t gotten to see much of him. Normally when his work got busy we would have this system where we chatted at dinner about our days. When we both worked; well, that doesn't happen that often. We still make time for each other, which kept our relationship alive. As he talked about his day we both heard the door open. We then heard Dora talking, though her words were faint. 

“I’m sure it is the guardian Amelia chose.” Ted said. I sighed quietly, not wanting my alone time with Ted to be interrupted.

"Or it could be that Weasley boy she was smitten with." I suggested. Ted rolled his eyes and began to head to the door. I smiled and waved goodbye as he left the room. Right after he left, Molly Weasley walked in. I wanted to sigh in relief, Amelia took my suggestion. She raised plenty of kids, so she would know we have an actual case here. I was worried that she would involve a closer relative since family troubles stay within the family. At least here it does. 

When she came in we talked briefly about the case. At first, it was how Harry was, and how he was left alone. This proved neglect, another serious crime against children here. The topic then went to what she needed to know. Legally speaking, she was not a witness for Harry. However, she can speak in his favor. 

“Does it seem odd to you that they are letting him stay at home?” She asked me once we got to the part about his living situation. I nodded, leaning back in my chair. If she was seeing it, there may be a case to remove him from the house. Not that she would let us do so. 

“What do you mean?” I asked. She fiddled with her shirt, maybe there wasn’t a case. 

“Lily is strong-willed. Harry doesn’t seem to be as strong-willed as her. She is also convinced that the trial won’t be happening.” She said, making me smirk. There it was. We have an actual case against the Potter matriarch. 

“If she is talking about the case in front of him, we can get her to leave the house. I can get Harry under a fidelius charm.” I started to ramble, making Molly frown. This was the same look I gave Dora when she said she wanted to do auror training. Granted that isn't a bad idea for her, it did tell me to reconsider. Maybe she didn’t want to go all the way through. There might be a simpler answer.

“I am not sure that removing him from the house is a good idea. Have you spoken to him about the case?” She asked me. I shook my head, I haven’t gotten the chance. Not since we saw each other at the ministry. He could have called me by now, though it was not likely that he would have had the time

“Not in the detail I would have liked to. He knows the process, though I am not sure that he knows what will happen after.” I told her. She nodded and stood up. I took this as it was time for her to leave. So I stood up as well, preparing to walk her out of the room.

“Well, I would like the records. So I can look them over.” She told me. I nodded and handed over the paperwork, making sure I had a copy of them first. She clutched the file in her hand before moving to grab her wand.

“I will stop by to discuss them with you.” I tell her, now knowing that she wasn't planning on leaving the way she came. She nodded and disapparated, leaving me alone in my office.

I stood there in silence before decided that I needed to meet up with Harry. That he needed to know more about the trials. At least I should answer any question that he may have. 

“Ted, I am heading to the Potter estate.” I called through my door.

“What time will you be back?” Ted asked, walking to my office. He was holding a cup of tea. I could tell that he had just made it by the amount of steam coming from the mug. 

“I’ll be no longer than an hour.” I promised. He gave me a curt nod before walking away. With that, I popped right over, landing at the end of the block. The neighborhood was clearly a mixture of muggles and magic folk. The area looked old fashion, with a candlelit street light at the end of the road. The houses also all looked old. I didn't spend much time looking around though, wanting this meeting to be quick. 

I walked up to their little house. It was different than the manor, which I visited when Sirius ran away. This one could easily be seen as your average muggle home. I figured that was the idea. If they weren’t seen as less than normal, there would be no suspicion.

I walked up to the door without a second thought. It took a while, but Harry eventually answered. He looked tired, which could be accounted for. He spent the morning traveling. Though, I am surprised it was him that answered the door.

“Is something wrong?” He asked, letting me into the house. I shook my head and looked around. The inside was far from the outside. The home was filled with moving objects. There were clothes being folded. I looked over at the open door, seeing that the kitchen was being cleaned as well. With a broom sweeping the floor. The living room also had a large fireplace in the front room as well. This house was far from a muggle home.

Harry dodged a blanket that was being folded as he walked back to the couch. A book was laying on the coffee table, and he picked it up. The book seemed new and I didn't recognize the title. The cover page did not look as though it were a title he would pick up.

“So, you are a reader?” I asked, shuffling awkwardly. He glanced up at me before looking at the armchair that I was standing near. I sat in it and his eyes went back to the book. He did not seem focused on the pages in front of him. Telling me that he was listening. 

“Not really, Jasmine is though. She likes me to read the book she is when she is in the hospital.” He said. I nodded and looked around. This was new territory. The last time I had a conversation with him up until recently was when he was five. Dora had been babysitting at the time. 

“What is this book about?” I asked him. He sighed and placed the book back on the table. His eyes bored into mine, a sense of uneasiness overcame me. I have to remind myself that he is only ten, even if he seemed much older.

“What do you need?” He asked. I shuffled in my seat as I tried to look at him again.

“Has your mother tried to talk to you about the case?” I asked. He huffed, adjusting himself so he was actually looking at me.

“She only talks about Jasmine. That is how it always is. The case only came up when something happened. She is mad.” He said. It was hard to remember that the case was only was established earlier today. It felt like a lifetime. 

“Do you want to leave the house?” I asked him. He shook his head. I could tell that he wasn’t lying. He looked scared when we mentioned him leaving. 

“No, then she would be losing all her kids.” He said. I wanted to tell him that she wouldn’t lose any of them. That this case would leave everything fine. I can’t promise him that, not when I didn’t know for sure. 

“You aren’t really good at the whole comforting thing.” He tells me. I want to deny it. He wasn’t wrong though. Ted did all the cheering up at home.

“ I don’t normally do this.” I admit. He nodded and gave me a smile.

“I don’t either.” He says. I gave him a confused look. He rolled his eyes and laid back down.

“I don’t usually have hope.” He tells me. 

I leave shortly after, knowing that I need to talk to Molly. After this, we need to make a plan. Well, I need a plan. I also need her caught up on the entire case.

The burrow is much different than the Potter’s home. The Weasley’s house is tall and wide to accommodate their large family. It was also bursting with life. I could hear laughter from the hill I landed on. The walk itself did not take long, thankfully. It was just down the hill and a short walk to the door. Once I was there, I took in the warmth I felt from out of the door. It was much different than my own home.

“Mum, someone is here.” I heard a male’s voice call. The door was then opened, revealing a flustered Molly. 

“Oh, I didn’t expect you so soon. Come in, supper is almost done.” She tells me. I smile and follow her inside. Her home was bright to say the least. It was also loud. If I were to come up with a word to describe it, I would say it was busy. There were children running around and the food seemed to be making itself. I could hear two of her kids arguing over a badge being missing. 

“Mum, tell him to give it back!” A voice called. Molly sighed and sent a glare over at the two redheads. 

"George, give Percy back his badge." She ordered. Her voice was low and firm. The boy pouted out his bottom lip.

"I am Fred mum." He said. She frowned for a second. The boy could sense he won this round but handed him back the badge regardless. Molly began to head back to the kitchen but was stopped by a young girl.

"Mum, Ron has my jumper." She said. Another boy came in with a jumper with the letter G on it.

"I was just borrowing it." He complained. 

"Ron, give her back her jumper. Ginny, go take your laundry to your room." She said. Both children went straight to it, complaining as they went. I didn't let her go back to the kitchen, knowing that if I did she would get interrupted again.

“I talked to Harry.” I said, making her look back at me. She rose an eyebrow, as though she was asking why it was brought up.

“He doesn’t want to leave. I don’t think it would be right to take him out of his home.” I said. She nodded and looked around.

“So, what do we do now?” She asked. I am not sure what to tell her.

“Why don’t we talk about what we need to find out about the family.” I advise. She nodded, looking around again.

“Percy, go tell Ginny and Ron to wash up.” She said. She then looked at a pair of identical boys.

“You too.” She said. The two boys ran off and she went back to the kitchen. I had a feeling that I would not be coming home to Ted any time soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like I can post on the right day lol.


	13. Harry

I didn’t find out what was going on until eleven that night. I forced myself to stay up, waiting for anyone to let me know what had happened. It was dad who called through the mirror. 

“Hey kid.” He greeted. He looked paler than usual and his eyes were surrounded by dark circles. His usual messy hair was sticking to his face and it was much greasier than normal. 

“You’re staying at work overnight aren’t you?” I asked, slouching into the couch. He nodded, looking remorseful. Since mum was out and Remus was too, I was alone. For all their faults and all that we have been through, my parents never left us alone overnight. We were sent to family friends or neighbor's homes. Charlus was sent to a friends home last year. Was it my fault that I was left behind? Maybe if I hadn’t ran off I would be with someone. 

“Mum is staying at the hospital.” Dad said, breaking through my thoughts. I bit my lip and looked away from the mirror. I don’t want to be alone. The house may be small, but it feels huge when you are the only one in it. 

“Can I go to Siri’s apartment?” I asked. Dad looked like he wanted to argue but a loud sound went off in the background. Dad looked back and nodded before looking back at me.

“Yes, give him a call. Give me a call in the morning.” He told me before ending the call. When the screen went blank I shot up and headed up the stairs. I quickly shoved a few outfits into my bag and a notebook before heading downstairs and calling Sirius on the mirror. My thoughts ran rampant over the brief conversation I had with dad. Was Jazz okay? Did something happen? Was the donation needed sooner? All of these thoughts went to the back of my mind when my dog father's face appeared in the mirror. 

"What's up pup?" He asked. His hair was messy and his eyes were still mostly closed. I probably should have figured he was asleep at this time. 

“I was left at home.” I mumbled. He nodded and sat up, looking a little more awake. His eyes opened a little more and I could see the concern in them. 

“Alright, I’ll meet you at the church.” He said, hanging up right after. I stared at the mirror before setting it down. My eyes began to sting with unshed tears, and I seriously began to wonder if it was worth it. If doing all this worth it. 

“You have to do this. There is no choice.” I whisper to myself as I looked around the house. My eyes landed on the photo of my siblings boarding the Hogwarts express. In old wizarding families the family would track its history through paintings. Our manor is filled with paintings of our family. It goes back generation after generation. A few generations back began the Potter tradition of keeping photographs. Paintings were still done, after all we needed something to be kept for long term. We haven’t gotten our portrait yet, there was never enough time. We do have photos though. On our fireplace has everyone's baby photos. Every first day of primary school. Every first day of Hogwarts. Except for mine.

I sighed and grabbed my shoes, shoving them on a second later. I then locked the house and headed down the road. I still couldn’t shake the thoughts about the photos we had in the home. I have a baby photo, but other than that there is one more of me. It is with my brother and sister on her first day of Hogwarts. The photos just stopped. Maybe it was because I am the third child. Maybe they got sick of taking them all the time. After all, Charlus and Jazz have done it all. Maybe it was because they forgot. It was no one's fault. I don't ask to have photos taken. Still, with the thousands of photos and paintings we have, you would think they would want to share the moments they were happy. To keep up the history of those living in this house. To show that they wanted to remember me. Before I knew it, I was at the church and Siri was waiting there, leaning against the building. He waved at me when he finally looked up. 

"Any news?" He asked. I shook my head and grabbed onto his hand, knowing that we were going to apparate there. 

"Nothing." I mumbled. He sighed and glanced down at me.

“You’re doing the right thing kid.” He tells me. I shook my head, I wasn’t. I was choosing myself over her. There was no other way. 

I hated apparating, the feeling of being sucked through a straw is not my cup of tea. Still, the wizarding world didn’t have a better idea of travel. So I am stuck with it. Sirius didn’t seem to mind it much, though I am pretty sure he would have preferred the motorbike. Though mum would kill him if he took any of us on it again. 

Once we got into his apartment Sirius led me to the living room area. I sat on his couch and watched him as he grabbed two mugs.

“Do you want anything?” He asked. I shook my head and looked down at his carpet. I found myself counting the lines in the tile floor. Fifteen lines led to the coffee table, thirty to the bookcase. There was a stain on the rug that laid under the table. It took fifteen squares from the bookcase to get to the outer part of the rug.

“-arry?” I looked up at him and he sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked half awake right now. I felt a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach, I shouldn’t be here. 

“Yeah?” I asked. He placed a hand on my shoulder and gave me a slight smile. 

“If you ever need to get away, know that you can stay here.” He said. I gave him a smile in return. Sirius let out a loud yawn and stretched a little. 

“You can take the guest room.” He told me, heading back to his room. I nodded and headed to his second bedroom. Maybe I could stay here until the trial. 

Maybe leaving would make it easier on everyone. I won’t be in the way until I am needed. Mum wouldn’t have to deal with three troubled kids. Dad, well dad would just stay at work like always. 

As I climbed into the bed I wondered if things would get better. If the case went how I wanted, would I get to still say I have a sister? Would Charlus say that he was the middle child? Would mum and dad say they have a daughter? Who would I be without her?

~MSK~

The next morning I was brought to one of the old HQ’s. Sirius wanted to do something at the ministry and said that I couldn't come with. He also apparently contacted dad since he met with us once we got there. 

"How was your night?" He asked me when we got there. I noticed that Sirius gave him a sad look before popping off again. Dad didn't even flinch at the loud noise the apparation made. It was weird to see them not talking. 

"Ready to go home?" Dad asked, grabbing my hand. He didn't seem to notice the lack of response from the first question, or the second one really since we also popped back into Godric's Hollow. Dad seemed so far away, even though he was holding my hand. I wanted to ask him what was wrong or even if he was okay. I knew better than to ask. I didn't need to. Jazz is in the hospital. There wasn't need of there is a reason other than that. So I kept quiet until the silence became suffocating.

“Why are you still fighting?” I asked as we walked back down the road. Dad refused to look at me, instead, he placed a hand on my shoulder and directed me towards the house.

“We aren’t fighting. Things, things are just hard right now.” He said. He was lying. There was something else about the situation. Something they weren’t telling me. I don’t get why they won’t tell me anything. I am apart of this. I should know what is going on, it’s not like I won’t understand most of it. 

“Did something happen?” I asked him. Dad didn’t seem to hear me, instead, he continued our walk down the road. Every time I walk down this path of dirt, it feels much longer. The road was not that long, though the silence seemed to drag out the time. Something might have happened to Jazz this morning. I would never know. They don’t think I should know. Maybe I shouldn’t.

“Jazz is doing better.” Dad finally said as we passed through the gate. I wanted to smile, but that meant that there was still time. Time was not something that would help the situation. She-

“That’s good.” I said quietly. Dad stopped walking and looked at me for the first time this morning. He did not look good. His hair was more greasy than the mirror revealed last night. He looked as though he hadn’t slept in weeks. This I knew couldn’t be true. He always slept better when he was in his office. 

“Harry, about what’s going on…” He started. I had no idea what I should tell him about this, or if he wanted to know. Merlin knows that they didn’t seem to care unless it involved Jazz. She was the sick one though. She needs attention.

“Nevermind, we can talk later.” He said, leading me into the house. I should feel relieved that he didn’t want to talk about it. Still, it would be nice if they ever wanted to hear what I had to say. 

The house was always weird when it was quiet. It was not something I ever got used to, even though it was empty a lot. With Jasmine going to Hogwarts, Charlus always being out and about before he left for school and dad’s work there was never a time when it wasn’t mostly empty. However, when it was full it was full. Full of life and noise and hope. We never really ran out of hope in this house. 

“Hungry?” Dad asked. I was about to confirm when we both heard a voice calling. Dad and I walked further into the house and into the kitchen. The voice seemed to grow quieter when we entered the room. Dad gave me a sad look and left the room to go see who was on the floo network. Once again I was alone in this house. I hate the feeling. The open room seemed to swallow me whole. Every corner of the room held memories of the people who should be there. My mum standing near the counters, cooking something new. My brother slouching against the island. He would be messing with the paper that was scattered across it. My sister would be talking my dad’s ear off and I would be right where I am. Completely isolated from the moment. You never see the person who took the picture. The person who took it is never remembered when you look back on the memory. I guess that is where I stand in this family.

“Hey, I’m needed at the office. I’ll be back later and we can go visit your sister.” Dad said when he came back into the room. I wanted to smile at the news. I missed her and I wanted to see her. Would mum let me see her is the question. 

“See you later.” I said as he walked to the fireplace. He nodded and stepped into the large opening. Soon green fire covered his body and he was gone. Leaving me truly alone. 


	14. James July 4th

I hate leaving Harry alone, not that we leave him at home alone. This would actually be the first time we did so on purpose. This being because I did actually need to get back to work. We had another call two this morning. 

There was suspicious activity in Diagon Alley. My partner and I headed over and took interviews with the witnesses. Some say that it was the old muggle studies professor at Hogwarts. Other note that he was wearing a turban. This did not help them in the slightest. 

"He was very pale." One of the witnesses stated. The woman seemed lost in thought as she tried to come up with another description.

"He also seemed very nervous. I felt bad for the poor man." She said. We sighed and headed back to the ministry to put together a profile. It probably was some poor bloke that was caught in the crossfire. Still, a suspect was a suspect. I ended up spending the night, which was almost always a relief. When I am at work, I know what to expect. There is always something going on, something to do. When I am at home, it’s never just something. If Jazz is not in treatment, Charlus has something. If not Charlus, Lily was breathing down my neck. At one point in time, Harry was the consistency at home. Now I wonder how little I know my own son. 

“Long night?" I am brought out of my thoughts and turned around, seeing a ginger woman who had to be older than I am. I tried to place where I have seen her before, she looked familiar. I also noted that she was holding two mugs of coffee in her hands. The hot liquid was calling to me.

“Kind of, more like a long week.” I chuckled. She had a kind smile on her face, which reminded me of how Lily used to smile. That seemed like forever ago.

“I would have shown up earlier to speak to you, but I had an emergency at home.” She told me. Why would this woman come see me? Where did I-wait. Ginger hair, a little plump. Kind of short. Oh, this is Arthur's wife. I wanted to slap myself when it came to me. She also was the woman that would be talking to Amelia about the case. Which, well I guess makes sense why she is here. 

“That’s fine, I just got back from dropping Harry off at the manor.” I told her. She gave me a puzzled look, and it barely occurred to me that leaving a ten-year-old at home was not normal. 

“Mind if we chat here?” She asked me. I shook my head and invited her into my office. She accepted and sat in the chair, and I sat where I sleep. 

"How is Jasmine?" She asked me, handing over a coffee. I took it and frowned. I talked to Lily before getting Harry. She was fine, no incidents. Slept through the night. Charlus had apparently been a bit grouchy, that was normal though. He was always off. 

“She’s fine, for now. That’s all that matters right now.” I tell her. The words felt odd in my mouth. It was as though I have recited them thousands of times, but I never quite got the wording correct. 

“Why is that?” She asked me. I had no idea what to tell her, that is how we always looked at things since she got sick. After a few minutes, I came up with an analogy that fits. 

“When your child is sick, it’s like you are surrounded at wand point. Regardless of which person you defend yourself against, you have so many others about to curse you. I have work, my friends, the Order. I can potentially fend myself against them, they all play for the same side. Then I have my family, which doesn’t normally interfere with me defending myself against the others. However, that is only one side. On another side I now have my daughter’s illness, I have my oldest son with his issues. I have problems with my best friend. Now I have Harry’s court case. When you look at what I had to deal with before I had my family, it seems so small in comparison.” I said. She frowned and patted my knee, almost as though she was asking me to continue. I had no idea where I was going with this. It didn’t seem like it made sense when I said it out loud. 

“If I look at my work and the order and take on one of the issues things are manageable. What I pick will make everything else cave in around me. I go to Jasmine and my other children suffer. Work falls through the cracks and I lose my friends. Everything else falls right behind it. Regardless of what I do things will crush me and shoot me down.” I tell her this and she sighed. I don’t think that she understood.

"How do you think Harry is doing?" She asked me, proving my point. Though I honestly don't know the answer to this one. I am not sure if I have known for a while now. 

"Would he do what he is doing if he was?" I asked. She shook her head and I sipped my coffee. It was good. I hadn't been able to sit and talk for a while. This was almost nice. 

"I think I know why he is doing this, but I can't know for sure." I told her. She gave me a look and I shrunk back into myself. She would understand part of it, she has so many kids that it was almost crazy. She may also think that we are monsters for what we are doing. She has every right to judge how many kids she is parenting. 

“When the kids were younger, they liked to come visit me. Lily would bring them over when I had a night shift or if one of them had a particularly bad day.” I suddenly said, making her look up at me. I have no idea where this came from. 

“Whenever they came over, Jazz would ask me to stay the night. She would cry, and throw a fit if we ever told her no. Which was often. Once I asked her why and she told me that I kept the bad guys far away. She felt safe when she was with me. So, I started coming home as often as I could. As the years pass I slowly stopped.” I don’t know why I am telling her this, bust as I went on, I kept spilling my guts as to why I am never home. The memory was clear in my mind as I spoke, I could see my eight-year-old little girl, coming into the office with tears pooling in her eyes as she begged me to stay. I could remember when she no longer wanted to come over as I started to stay longer. 

“Maybe it’s the stress. Maybe it’s because I refuse to believe that she could be dying. I am a coward. There are many times when I just stay a couple of hours longer. Last night I could have gone home. I could have stayed with Harry. I could have gone to the hospital. I could have even spent the night with Harry at Sirius’s apartment. I stayed here, and came right back as soon as I could.” I laughed. I knew it wasn’t funny, but that’s all I could do. I am pathetic. She didn’t judge me though, instead, she continued to pat my leg like I am some twelve year old who just fell off his broom.

“You aren’t a coward for not wanting to watch her. You should go home and spend time with them.” She told me. I sighed and looked right at her. 

"How do you do it?" I asked her. She smiled sadly and took my hand. It was comforting and warm. How Lily used to be. Merlin, when was the last time I held Lily's hand?

"When you have kids, someone is always an easy child. The child you can count on being easy-going." She tells me. Harry happened to be that child. 

"Harry needs someone to listen." I knew that she wasn't saying it with malice, yet it stung just the same. We listened. At least we tried to listen. I couldn't count how many times he begged us to not make him do it. How many times he told me that he didn't want to anymore. I took it as him being scared. He was six when he first said something.

"I wish it were as simple as us taking him out one on one now. With his sister and all..." I trailed off. I wanted to think I was on the right track. That the truth was just about to come to me. 

"I have children. I am aware of the fact that it is difficult to give them all the attention they require. You manage. I never had the hardship of having a sickly child, Merlin knows how we would survive that. However, Harry needs to know someone has his back. That someone will be there for him." She tells me. If only it were that simple. I loved my son. I tried so hard to work him into my world. When he was a baby it was so easy. He took everything we gave him and gave us back his love and adoration. He was always the first to greet me at the door when I came home. He was the first to tell me about his day. Always sitting on his sister's bed and telling her about his newest discovery in our library. 

Then he got older. Then he started to ask us about why he was around. Why he had to go to the hospital with Jasmine. Why he couldn't see his sissy when we got there. I can still visibly see him crying for us as they carried him into the room the first time he was fully aware of what was happening. I can still hear his cries when they were done.

"If we stop now, who is going to help her?" I asked, feeling doubt about what we were doing. When Dumbledore suggested this years ago, it sounded so simple. This was a risky solution to the problem; however, the alternative is her death. What about Harry though? This wasn't supposed to last this long.

"As a parent, I know you are struggling. However, as a parent, I also know that you are doubting that this is what is right for him." She tells me. This was not the first time I wondered if we were doing the right thing. This was the first time I was worried that we were doing the wrong thing.

"Come with me, there is someone that you should meet." I tell her. She smiled and stood up and we headed out of my office and down the long hallway that belonged to the ministry. With every step we took, I could see the war that we were entering. The battle where no one would come out a winner. No good guys no bad guys. No dark and light. Just a dying child and one who was becoming invisible every single day. The one who's life was depending on the other and the other who couldn't live when the other is alive. 

The worse part is that it isn't even the dying child who was fighting for this transplant. It was his wife. She was keeping Jasmine alive for as long as possible. I am starting to get worried about how far she would go with it. Also, why wasn't Jasmine fighting for this transplant? When did Jasmine want to stop? Did she want to keep fighting? Of course she did, who wanted to die. At least this is what I told myself.


	15. Molly

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back and I am not dead!

At first he didn't tell me where we were going, though I should have figured we were heading to the manor. As we headed out of the ministry James mentioned that he desperate was in need of a shower, and from the state of his hair I would have to agree. Once we arrived at the church I began to wonder who he wanted me to talk to. I did need to speak to Harry, though the possibilities were endless with this family. Maybe he wanted me to speak to his wife. After all, I hadn't gotten the opportunity. I am unsure how much they have talked about the case.

Once we actually arrived at the manor he headed straight up the stairs, ignoring Harry. Harry had been sitting at the dining room table, and didn’t look up from his bowl. Maybe he hadn't seen us, if he had he made no acknowledgement of that fact. 

“Hello Harry.” I greeted. He looked at me with distrust, which was much different than the shy smile I had seen the last time I had been around. Maybe something had happened when his mum brought him back into the house the day before. 

"Why are you here?" He asked, his voice sounding hostile. That was not the same boy I had met yesterday. 

“Harry.” I scolded automatically. He winced and went back to staring into his bowl. I could practically hear the seconds ticking away as the silence became thick with unspoken tension. As I looked at him I noticed that he looked tired, as though he didn't sleep at all the night before. 

“You never answered the question.” He said, his voice was quiet. I sighed and sat on a stool next to him. I noticed that he had old grapes in his bowl. These seemed a little mushy, and likely didn’t taste very good. 

“Your father wanted me to speak with someone.” I told him. He sighed, and looked back at me. 

“You are probably going to meet Jazz.” He said. That made sense, though I am unsure why he would bring me to visit with their eldest. While she was important for the case, I really don’t see his wife letting me speak to her. Especially since in Lily’s eyes, I am here for Harry. 

“I do need to talk to everyone involved.” I told him, figuring it was the safest thing to tell him. Harry then looked up at me. I couldn’t read his emotions at all. Not that he was lacking any emotions on his face, there were too many to fit into one exact emotion. 

“Okay.” He said, his voice sounding empty. He almost sounded like a prisoner after they had a dementors kiss. No emotion, nothing. Like he was a walking shell. He then looked down at his grapes and in an instant everything seemed to crash. His expression changed to one of pain. His hands became shaky and his lips quivered. 

"These are mushy, they are too old." He said, his voice seemed to imitate his unsteady hands. He refused to look back at me, his eyes trained on the grapes inside of the bowl.

"I don't even like grapes, why was I eating these?" He asked, looking over at the cabinet that I assumed is where grapes are. He began to walk over and pulled out the bowl of grapes and sighed, slamming the door closed.

"We need more grapes. Jasmine likes grapes." He said. I could hear his voice cracking as he went to toss them. The bowel fell out of his hands and he crumbled to the floor. I quickly went over and hugged him as he cried.

"You can get more grapes for her." I whispered as I held the sobbing boy. I had no idea why he was so distraught. So I held him as he cried. He looked smaller than usual like this. After around ten minutes, Harry calmed down enough to look up at me. His cheeks were a light pink and his eyes were red. 

“Better?” I asked. He nodded and sat up, I would assume that he wanted to forget all about this. Luckily James walked in right now instead of earlier. I am unsure how he would have reacted to this. He seemed like the sort of father who never had to deal with his child being in distress.

“We need more grapes.” Harry said awkwardly. James nodded and looked at his son in interest. He then patted Harry on the shoulder and nodded. 

“We can do that on our way back home.” He promised. He then looked back at me and smiled. The way he smiled told me that he was up to something. If my brothers had given me that look I would have ran in the other direction. If my twins gave me the look, I would know that something was about to happen.

“So, are you two ready to go see Jasmine?” He asked. Harry look appalled at his father’s words. I wanted to point out to him that he was the one who told me that this is why I am here. 

“Dad!” Harry objected.

“Lord Potter, I must object. If your daughter is unwell, now might not be the best idea.” I said, making Harry give me a grateful look. James chuckled and ruffled his son’s hair. 

“Nonsense, now is better than ever.” He said. Harry looked like he was about to object again when James shook his head. 

"I thought that she should talk to Jazz when she is better. We don't know if we will have another day like this." He said. Harry sighed and looked back at me. I wondered if he assumed that I could somehow do something to stop this. Even if I could, this is an opportunity that might not pop back up by Monday.

“Sorry.” I whispered to him. James then grabbed Harry’s hand and looked at me. 

“We are heading to St. Mungos.” He told me. I nodded and prepared to apparate right after them, figuring that I would be meeting them at the entrance. James and Harry left with a loud pop and I followed right behind them.

Once I arrived at the front entrance, the father son duo were not to be found. I walked inside and still did not see them. Instead I was greeted with rushing med witches and healers running around. There were many people sitting around people rushing in and out of the many rooms. It was chaos, like always. I was about to head out when I saw James and Harry walking inside. Harry looked a little happier, and James looked relieved. I wanted to ask about it, instead I held my tongue and and nodded at them. 

“She is on the fourth floor, come on.” James said, leading me to the lift. After the short lift up we arrived to the room.

James instantly walked in, waving at his wife and children. Lily was sitting next to the bed and another dark haired boy was sitting in a chair against the wall. He looked bored out of his mind and like he wanted to escape. 

“Mum, can I go now?” The boy whined. Lily sighed and nodded. The boy smiled and hopped out of the chair and headed out the door Harry and I were standing near. I wanted to object to them letting him leave. Instead I held my tongue and watched as James walked over to his daughter's bed. 

“Hey Princess, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." He laughed. Jasmine stuck her tongue out at him and Harry started to slowly creep his way in, leaving me standing in the door frame. Lily looked at him and nodded, giving him her approval to come in. He instantly climbed into her sick bed. Jasmine smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around him. 

“Where have you been?” She asked him. He glared up at her and buried his face into her. She winced and slapped his arm. 

“Hey, glasses hurt.” She complained. Harry looked up at her and gave her puppy eyes. She sighed and began to pet his hair. Harry then looked at me, his face told me to leave. I was not about to reveal myself. The moment felt private, and I was not to be apart of it. 

"Who are you?" Jasmine asked me, revealing my presence to the Potter matriarch. I could feel all of their eyes move to where I was standing. James sighed and looked over at his wife. Lily instantly glared when she looked over.

"Why is she here?" Lily demanded when she finally noticed me. I could see Harry was still eyeballing me from his spot on his sisters bed. He looks so small laying there next to her. They both did.

"I thought she should meet her now. Because she is feeling so much better." James said. Lily glared at him and Harry's eyes narrowed a bit at his parents.

"Jasmine is still sick." Harry protested. Before James or I could speak up Lily jumped on the bandwagon. It took me a minute to figure out why he didn't want me here. When I found the reason it made perfect sense. Everyone who meets Jasmine is on her side. He needs people on his side and was trying to keep me away.

"She just got over the potions she was taking. Maybe another time." Lily said. James sighed and looked over at me.

"Don't worry-" I said looking at Harry, before adding "-it wont be long, I have to get back to my children." I promised. Lily sighed and looked at the door. I followed her out, letting Harry and James spend time with Jasmine.

"Look, I understand that you are on Harry's side. You should be, I know how it is. I do ask that you don't mention the trials or anything. She doesn't need this. She doesn't need to know about it." Lily said. I nodded and glanced over at the room. It felt wrong lying to the girl. However, I also knew where Lily was coming from. 

"I promise." I told her. James and Lily then took Harry to the ice cream parlor down the road, leaving me alone with Jasmine. The girl was not what I expected the supposed defeater of the dark lord. She was scrawny and short, similar to how the Potter heir looked in his school days. She had fire like red hair and dark brown eyes that could win a fight with a single glare. Yet she also was very pale and fragile looking. Enough to make anyone's heart melt. It was easy to see why she got all the sympathy.

“So, are you a new med witch?” She asked. I shook my head, chuckling to myself. I should have figured that she would assume that.

“No, though I was trained to become a healer.” I told her. I could see her relax as she rolled over, looking right at me. 

“No bad news then?” She asked. Again I shook my head. She was expecting something. I wouldn’t blame her, after how long she has been in here I would too. 

"No, though I am glad you are feeling better today." I tell her. She smiled and nodded. She probably has heard that a thousand times today alone.

"Apparently I was very loopy yesterday. I thought my healer was my potions professor."She laughed. 

"Which is horrible since Professor Snape is the last person you want to see when you are in your sick bed." She added, still laughing. I could only smile as she looked up at me with a big grin. She would get along great with my twins. Maybe she knew them, though if I recalled she is a year older.

"So, Jasmine, what do you know about your situation?" I asked. Her face went from amused to tired very quickly.

"There is a mass of something that is on my magical core that is living off the magic. Since it is there my core has no way of actually creating it's own. With less magic for it to feed on, it is destroying the core itself and latching onto my spinal cord. Which is causing other issues, such as my ability to walk and a number of other problems. They know what is wrong now, but I was so out of it, I can't remember what it is." She told me. She sounded like her soul had been sucked out of her in that second. It was so monotone. Is this where Harry got it? Maybe one of their parents got like this. 

“Anything else?” She asked. I shouldn’t be surprised that Harry acted a lot like her. It still shocked me when they sounded so blunt. 

“What are your plans for after Hogwarts?” I asked, changing the conversation. I had no idea what I should ask her. There was little to talk about when I can’t bring up the case. She smiled at the question, this time it didn’t reach her eyes.

"I'm not sure, I knew when I was little. I don't actually think I am going to grow up though." She admitted. I frowned, feeling a short moment of pain in my chest. She had no hope. Harry might have known this for a while. I shook my head slightly, this was not the time to dwell on the situation.

"Well, if they do find a way to keep you well, then what would you do?" I asked. She was silent for a few minutes, thinking. 

"A Librarian. Do you know what they get to do?" She asked. I stop myself from saying live alone. It wasn't always the case.

"They surround themselves with knowledge and books of all kinds. They are the true keepers of knowledge." It was almost amusing that she was so in love with the idea of being a librarian. I silently hope that she gets to do this. 

“What did you want to be?” She asked me. At her age, I wanted to be a performer. Those dreams had long since passed. 

“A healer.” I told her. She nodded and looked up and down at me. 

“I can see it.” She decided, turning again so she was laying on her back. 

“Harry wants to be a Quidditch player and Charlus wants to be a muggle football player. I don’t get the appeal, being famous and all.” She said. That is not what I expected of the savior of the wizarding world.

“What is Charlus like?” I asked. She snorted and looked at the door, almost as though she was waiting for him to return. 

“He is nicer than he likes to act. He is angry, and lashes out. Mum doesn’t know what to do with him. Dad isn’t around enough to take care of it.” She said. That, weirdly makes sense. Percy tells me about the middle Potter child in his letters. The twins told me that he is a loner. It is clear that child needs some help.

"I don't think he does it on purpose, not at first anyways. It was the only thing that got him seen. Harry was the baby and I'm me. He was the bird in the dragons den. He wasn't going to be noticed. So he got angry and eventually he lashed out." She then clarifies. 

"And Harry?" She sighed and looked around again. She looked so lost but so present in that moment.

"He's my baby brother. We bicker and sometimes hate each other. He pulls my hair and I push him back. When he hits me I cry and when I hit him he goes and pranks me. Some times I think that he is the best person in the world. Other times, I wish he was never born." Her words reminded me of my older brothers. It was so familiar that I can only smile. 

"I live in a world without my brothers. Every day I wish I had more time with them." I tell her. She smiled sadly at me.

"The thing is, I never have to imagine a world without him. He's the one who has to picture a day without me."


	16. Lily 1985

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so chapter 15 has been replaced with it's intended chapter, so if you haven't read where James and Molly headed after their chat in chapter 14 go back and read that first.

At eight, Jasmine was a force to be reckoned with. She was tall for her age and could take her own in any battle she wanted. She was gorgeous, to the point that other parents in her muggle class complemented her regularly. Her tutors also adored her and she made friends easily. To top it all off, she has been in remission for three years. Life almost felt easy now, and the nerves of her relapse were finally leaving. She was great. Charlus was doing good, a little troubled but we were working on it. Harry was a doll and we loved it. If only our perfect little family would get ready.

"Jasmine, darling, we need to get going. We have to make it to the Halloween festival." I told her, sticking my head through the door. Jasmine was sitting in the middle of a pile of clothes. She was in a lovely green dress that contrasted her red hair perfectly.

"I can't find my stockings." She said, pouting her bottom lip. I laughed as I pulled them out of her dresser. 

"Here you are." I said. She pulled them on and grinned. It is then that I noticed she was standing weird. 

"Are your feet alright?" I asked. She looked down and looked confused, as though she didn't notice.

"Huh, must have stood up weird." She said, moving onto her shoes. Harry bounded into the room and smiled when he saw us.

"Mummy, dad needs help with his tie. Also uncle Sirius is late again." He reported. I smiled and left Harry and Jasmine alone for a moment. When I located my husband, his tie was messed up, and his hair was untidy. 

"Here, let me do it." I laughed, moving to tie his tie. He looked at his tie as I fixed it.

"I still don't understand why I need to be well dressed. We are only introducing the children to the others in their age." He grumbled. I rolled my eyes, finishing the tie.

"If they are growing up with them, they might as well know the society they will be living in." I tell him. In reality we have pushed this back for as long as we could. Jasmine was in recovery. She needed to be integrated back into society. James squeezed my hand and pecked my cheek.

"I know, I just hate these things. Going as a child was horrible, I would rather not see what the adult party looks like." He shuttered. 

"Go brush your hair, Charlus seems to think that he can get away with it too." I scolded, pushing him towards the closest mirror. Before long we were all ready for the party and left the manor.

Parties and balls in our world were for top of the line families. These usually contain the purest families and there was no way James would take our children to one of those. Luckily, Diagon ally has festivals throughout the year. These festivals were full of different status families. There were children of different ages running around and the adults all gathered in one area. I watched as Jasmine talked to children her age and Harry followed her everywhere. It was nice, and that night the children fell asleep with no issues. That should have been my first clue that this was the end of our good fortune. 

It takes a single second for your life to change. It take two seconds for grief to kick in and turn your life upside down. 

The appointment was schedule months before I had noticed her feet. That morning Jasmine had complained about her back hurting, which didn't ring any alarms. She had fallen asleep against the wall at the party the night before. She was bound to be a little sore. That didn't seem to be the case. 

"Her core is a little low. Did she have a large burst of magic recently?" I am asked. I can't recall her have any accidental magic recently. Nothing that large anyways.

"Unless levitating a cookie from the jar counts, no." I tell him. They tell me that her core itself is still intact, that we can try flushing her system. 

"We were prepared for a relapse." Her healer told me. Right. Relapse, that word always left a nasty taste in my mouth. It was foreign and not welcome. She was better. At least that is what we were hoping. She seemed better, until yesterday there was no problems.

"Her feet and the back pain?" I asked. They aren't sure. Potentially the mass was a little higher than her core and it was on the spine, but they couldn't be sure without an imaging. So we set an appointment and sent an owl to Dumbledore. 

"I have a theory, but I can't be sure." Dumbledore tells us in a letter. He invites us over to tea after the healers give her an imaging. That appointment isn't until the next weekend, since they were in school on Monday. 

I slumped back into my seat as soon as I got home and didn't move. The world felt like it was falling apart, and it wasn't worth doing much at all. Why cook dinner? Why fix the hole in Harry's baby blanket? Why pack their lunches for the next day? Why do anything when I can't protect my own child? How did I not notice that her magic wasn't where it should be?

"Mum, did you forget?" Charlus asked me, forcing me out of my thoughts. I stared at him as though he were speaking Greek. 

"What?" He looked impatient. Where have I seen that look before? I tried to go back in my memory to place it but my stubborn child demanded my attention.

"You promised to get me new shoes for football after my optometrist appointment." He tells me. My eyes widened as I remembered. That's right, he had grown out of his old pair right at the end of the season. We kept the old pair so Harry could wear them when he starts to play. As for the look, maybe it was when James was pestering me at school. 

"I'm canceling the optometrist appointment." I tell him. He grinned, making me sigh in relief. That gave me another day to think and maybe things would go back to normal. 

"Awesome, so when are we getting my shoes?" He asked, ending the hope of a peaceful afternoon. I tried to remember when he was supposed to start, making me wince when I remembered when he actually started. That's probably why he wants to do it this weekend, but I can't. Not when all of this makes me feel as though I couldn't leave the couch without falling apart. 

"Now's not a good time. You can wear your old ones until we get your new ones." I promised. He looked hurt. That's another familiar look, it was the one Jasmine gave me when we first started the core testing. the look of betrayal that never left my mind since she gave it to me.

"You promised you would get me new shoes mum. You promised." He said. I know I did, but he doesn't understand. 

"Charlie let it go." I said, resting my head in my hands. How can I make him understand?

"But-" He tried again and I lost it. 

"I said let it go!" I scolded. He glared at me as he stared. That look on his face-

"I can't play with those shoes mum. I need new ones. You aren't even doing anything." He said. I glared back at him and sat forward. 

"Your sister is very sick. I am so sorry that she interferes with your appointments for new glasses and plans on getting shoes. In the grand scheme of things, these are very small." I said, ignoring my own tone. 

"But mum-" He tried before I cut him off.

"Charlus you are seven years old, it's time for you to grow up and realize the whole world doesn't revolve around you." The words came out before I could process I was saying. I wanted to apologize but his eyes trained on Jasmine, who was holding Harry up so he could grab a hold of the tree branch. 

"Sure, she's sick. I think it's time for you to realize the entire world doesn't revolve around her." He said. 

I saw flames. I never actually knew how a parent could hit their child, though in that moment I knew. I knew what it took. It was when you look straight at your child and saw a reflection of yourself. When I finally came to, he was gone. There was a slam on the door, and it was over. 

There is no ice cream and hugs in the world that would fix this. I told him his sister is more important than him. When I finally calmed down enough to think I headed up to his room. 

"Charlie, baby, I am sorry." I said through the door. When it opened, the sight horrified me. His hand was bleeding and his glasses were shattered on the ground.

"Mum, you don't have to buy my new glasses anymore." He said.

Two weeks go by, and Charlus got contacts. We also have an idea of what may be wrong with Jasmine. We had physical therapy done at home to correct her walking and went to St. Mungos once a month to flush her core, hoping to see at what point the core stopped developing magic. 

"Did you know that Newt Scamander traveled across five different continents and over a hundred countries to study the many magical creatures?" Charlus asked me once while we were waiting to be called. He was obsessed with the man. At least he wasn't getting into fights as of late. 

"Is that so?" I asked. He nodded and continued to read the book he had. Jasmine looked over at him in interest.

"What else has he done?" She asked. Charlus began a mini ramble about everything he knew about the man. Before he could get to long into it we were called into the room.

Right after that trip to the hospital we met back up with Dumbledore. His office never seemed to change. There was a pile of toys and books for the children to play with and read. Charlus had his book in hand, reading out the random facts to his brother and sister. Harry played with the toys happily and Jasmine blew bubbles. The bubbles flew around both boys, coming out as different animals. 

"Is she taking to her treatment?" Our old professor asked. James and I looked at each other, not knowing for sure. 

"Her physical therapy is taking, at least her walking isn't bad anymore. She still takes the appropriate dose of her pain relief potions." I reported. James nodded along, as though to confirm. 

"The healers still have no idea what is wrong with her. They have been flushing her core. That isn't taking and they can't find where her magic is going. The mass isn't growing, but it also isn't staying in place." He said. This caught our old headmasters attention. 

"Is that right? Have you tried to donate some more, to see if the level was just running low?" He asked. We both looked at each other. 

"We said that it would be one time." James said. I scowled at him and looked over at our children. 

"If you could donate to her, would you?" I asked him. 

"Of course." He almost sounded offended at the thought of not donating. 

"So would I, who are we to assume that he wouldn't." I tell him, and that was it of this conversation. 

To Harry, it was the best day of his short life. He got to spend time with dad and mummy by himself. We took him to the park before and he got to hold both of our hands as we walked. He didn't care that we were heading to the hospital. 

I told him that his sister is sick again. This he understood, after all we had told him everything when Charlus was picking on him. We then told him that the healers needed something from him. That it would make Jasmine feel better. He understood, at least enough to be okay.

"Mione told us that her mummy and daddy could fix everyone's teeth." He told us while coloring in his book. James laughed as he colored with him.

"Is that so?" He asked. Harry looked up at him and gave him a 'no duh' look.

"They are dentist." He said, shrugging. He was a little to young to know what that was exactly. We knew basic charms at home, eliminated the need to visit one. 

"Alright guys, let's get this show on the road. Mum, why don't you hold him." The healer said. I nodded and climbed onto the exam table, placing Harry on my lap. That is when the healer pulled out a needle. Harry instantly began to thrash around. James tried to hold him back, but Harry slapped his hands away from him. Two medwitches then came in and calmed the boy down. Soft words and light touches soothed the boy. It was over within minutes, but it wasn't all over. 

When it didn't seem to do what we thought it would, Dumbledore suggested another ounce. This appointment was scheduled on the same day as a birthday party. I let him go, figuring that I could pick him up after I dropped Charlus off at practice. When I arrived there I saw Harry talking to this girl with bushy hair. There weren't many children here, though both children seemed happy enough. 

"Hi, I am Jean. I am sad to see Harry go, Hermione loved having him. Though I understand why. It must be difficult time for you all." l nodded and waved at Harry.

"I hope you never have to go." I said sincerely. She smiled and looked at her daughter.

"No, I'd rather stick around here." She said, an odd choice of words but I agreed.

"Harry, your mother is here." She said when neither child came over. Harry finally saw me and ran over, laughing a bit.

"What do you say?" I asked. He looked over at Jean and smiled. 

"Thank you for having me." He said, before looking down at his feet, seeing that his shoelaces were untied. 

"It was a pleasure. Now you call anytime and we will be glad to take you in for a while." She said. Harry tensed as he finished the first lace and I was officially confused.

"What did Harry tell you?" I asked. Her smile faltered.

"Well, Harry said that you have to drive out to Little Whinging Surry because your mother is ill. That's why he is leaving so you all can say goodbye. He also said that you wouldn't be back for a while and that you couldn't call because she doesn't have service." I could tell she paraphrased since there was no way Harry knew this much about muggle technology. Though I had no idea why Harry would lie about this.

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure why he would lie. My parents passed away years ago." I admit before dragging Harry out of there. Once we were down the street I stopped him and sat him on a bench.

"Why would you lie to them?" I demanded. He scowled at me and crossed his arms. A new look on him and it was not one I liked.

"Why did I have to leave early?" He asked, his voice sounded very bratty. I had to stop myself from telling him that his sister is more important than some party. That he was the only one that could do this for her. Because I said so. 

"Stop acting like a five year old." I said instead, grabbing his hand. It was then that I remembered who I was talking to. 

This appointment was hard on him, and we went back to Dumbledore. The old man was becoming more and more concerned with each visit. 

"Could there be another way?" James asked. He shook his head. Our mentor looked around his office and flicked his wrist. 

"Give them this, it is what I think it could be." He tells us. We looked at the paper in confusion.

"What is a Horcrux?" I asked him. James looked pale, it is then that I knew he recognized the word. I still had no clue.

"In simple terms, it is a piece of a soul. I believe that she may have one in her." He tells us. I grabbed my husbands hand as the headmaster explained what it took to rid of the soul. He then explained why he wanted us to continue the treatments.

"Her magic may be powerful enough to expel the soul. For that to happen, we need to save the core." He said. It made perfect sense to me, and I quickly agreed to go through with it. 

After the visit James spent more time at work. I couldn't tell you why exactly he did, I just had my suspicions. When he did come home he told me stories about work. 

"This guy was crazy. He was one of the guys that got Frank and Alice." He tells me. I frowned, setting my tea down.

"Do you ever think about them?" I asked. He nodded and looked down at his newspaper. It is the Quibbler, which was weird since we normally got the Daily Prophet. 

"Yeah, all the time." He admits. I looked down at my paper and saw the headline. The Girl Who Lives: Integrating Back into Society.

"We should visit sometime." I decide, tossing my paper into the bin.

One month later and it is the third round. Harry was babbling to the healer. He doesn't even flinch when they stick him with the needle. 

"I love you mummy." He says, holding my hand. I want to sob as I squeeze his little hand.

"I love you too baby."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we are now back to our regularly scheduled program. I got a new laptop so no more issues :)


	17. Harry

I used to imagine how life would be when she died. I would go along with my day, pretending that she wasn't at Hogwarts. That she was actually gone. It was almost too easy, at least to imagine. I convinced myself that her room was still done up because mum and dad were too deep into mourning. I thought myself into no going into her room. Whenever I did I started to tear up. Charlus never came out of his room, I told myself it was because he was depressed. That might be true regardless of Jazz being gone or not. Then mum would call me down for whatever meal it was. This would break the allusion long enough for me to reflect on what I was feeling. It took months for me to realize I was grieving. 

During this time I hardly left my room. I stayed in bed crying my eyes out, not knowing what to do. I didn't like to think about her being gone. It was almost as though I were trying to squeeze myself back into my old trainers. At first, it seemed like everything was fine, then everything hurt and I was on the ground. Crying again. Her not being there anymore, my brain rejected the thought. It was the one thing that I wasn't allowed to think. Every birthday candle, every wish on a star. Every hope and prayer. It was for her to get better. I am supposed to think that she will be fine. That the next treatment will work. This was the time that would finally make us normal. The thought about who I would be without her is terrifying. The thought of how our family would be when she is better? That is a thought I cannot even begin to picture.

We walked around for a while after getting our ice cream. I didn't think that mum wanted to go back to the hospital just yet. Dad told us jokes and stories about his days in Hogwarts. Mum slapped his arm a couple of times when he went to far. It was almost how life could have been. If Jasmine hadn't gotten sick. I can't even imagine how life would have been in that scenario. I wasn't allowed to dwell on that though much longer. As the conversation continued, my thoughts left the hospital. It left Jasmine. Moments like this were a rarity and I needed to soak up every second of it. I had no idea if I would be allowed to have it again.

Like everything, the moment ended. Mum and dad stopped walking and I was brought back to that reality. It turns out that they found a bench. It was sitting outside of the exact place I wanted to avoid. When we sat down, no one spoke. I didn't want to break the illusion of normality, my parents didn't know what to say. None of us wanted to actually start the conversation.

"Harry, I know that we need to listen to you more. However, we don't need a judge to decide that." Mum said, her words sounded careful. I looked up at her and frowned. I couldn't read the expression on her face. It was a mix of desperation and hope. There were a little sadness and anger there as well.

"Does that mean we don't have to do this anymore?" I finally asked. This seemed to be the right thing to say since mum's face lit up. All of those emotions seemed to leave her face and I could feel a balloon start to swell in my chest. Maybe this would be the end. 

"Yes, I've been trying to tell you this the entire time." She said. I wanted to cry, it couldn't be this easy. Still, the idea of it being over was too good not to grasp onto. Normality might actually be within reach.

"I'll go tell Jasmine." I said, shooting up. Mum shook her head, and the doubt seeped in. That wasn't what she meant, was it? What else could it be then?

"No, honey. We don't need to do that. We will tell Amelia and it will all be over." She said. Oh, they haven't told Jazz that the trail was still on. Either that or they don't want to bring her into this. Yet, it doesn't make sense.

"Won't she be confused as to why I'm not donating anymore?" I asked, and mum looked exasperated. The balloon in my chest let all of the air out in that exact moment, leaving a cold, empty feeling in it's place.

"When I said stop, I meant the lawsuit." She told me, and it all came crumbling down. I shook my head, which was enough for my mum to go off the wall. Her face turned red and she gripped onto her wand. I instantly scooted back before the shouting started.

"What on earth did we do to deserve this?" She demanded. My dad jumped up, seeming to prepare to jump between the two of us if needed. I am terrified that he will.

"It's not what you've done." I said, tears forming in my eyes. Why couldn't she understand that I don't want to do this? That I have no other choice.

"Then what haven't we done?" She asked me and I glared. She didn't understand, and she never would understand. This was my only option, there is no way out of this. Not when it comes to Jasmine. I balled my hands into a fist and dug my nails into my palms. My heart race starting to raise.

"You aren't listening to me!" I yelled back. As though it was listening in on the conversation an owl came. I watched as it dropping a letter on mum's lap before flying off again. As mum read it her scowl stayed on her face. Lines formed as she read it and once she was done her head snapped up.

"What did you say to him?" She asked, making everything pause. I tried to think of any man I talked to recently. Charlus and Sirius. Yet neither are involved in any of this. Who was she talking about?

"To who?" I asked. Dad picked up the letter and furrowed his eyebrows. 

"What's this?" He asked. Ah, must be full of legal language. Dad was good with the political stuff, he was raised in it. Mum was the one who dealt with the legal stuff. Regardless, it was Greek to me. 

"Temporary removal of guardianship. You do know that by doing this you would be removed from the house right?" She asked me. Who is doing this? What is she talking about? This is not what I wanted. I never asked anyone to do this. I told Andie I want to stay in my home.

"I didn't ask for this." I told her, and I was being honest. I don't know why she doesn't believe me. Dad seemed to know what was going on, though he was not about to take a side. 

"No one would file this on their own accord." Mum shot back. She was furious. That much I could see. If it were possible her eyes would be in flames with the anger she held in them. Her grip on her wand was tight, and I was worried it would snap it in two. 

"I don't know what is going on." No one was telling me anything. I felt my breath pick up and I held on to my sleeves as tightly as I could. 

"How on earth did you think you could take care of yourself?" Mum asked, the letter now clenched in her fist. Everything felt like it was moving so fast and I had no idea which way to turn. I could hear my heartbeat as though it were against my ears. I clenched my eyes shut as I tried to calm down. 

"If that's what you want, we can start now." She said, her voice sent chills down my spine. She then popped away, and dad grabbed my hand to follow her. 

As the three of us got to the ministry, mum and dad were arguing. Dad thought they should get their own representative. Mum said that no one would get through to me if she couldn't. I stayed out of it. I had no place in that conversation. I tried not to think about how it was only three months ago mum was comforting me when my best friend moved. That a month ago Jasmine was poking me until I gave in and told her about it. That all of that might never happen again. That we could never go back to how it was again.

Once we entered the ministry we were swarmed with reporters. Some were asking me why I was taking my parents to court. Others asking if I knew that I was a 'designer' child. Mum threatened to hex them all as she pulled me to the lift. Dad acted as a bodyguard. I stayed quiet. I knew that they chose my core and magic type, it was needed. I am still my own person. If they designed me as others assumed, I would have been obedient. I wouldn't be doing what I am.

It took longer to get to the office. With all the reporters more people were out of their offices. Thus more questions. That was just at the front of the building. When we did reach the office mum began arguing with Andie. They were practically at each other's throats. I sat with dad, watching them from our seats. There was nothing else to do in that moment.

"What did you do?" Mum demanded. I couldn't hear Andie's response, but mum was not taking it.

"Who told?" Mum demanded. I wanted to disappear. Be anywhere but here. How would they be if I weren't? Maybe mum would be happy, not having a defiant child. Maybe Charlus would get the attention he needed. Maybe dad would come home more often. Maybe Jazz wouldn't get that sick that often. I felt the tears freely falling down my face. Sometimes I hate myself for what I am doing. That is when Molly rushed in, panting slightly.

"Oh Harry, I would have come sooner but the reporters." She said. I nodded and looked down at my feet.

"Are you alright, dear?" She asked. I nodded before shaking my head. I don't know. My chest felt tight and everything seemed to be blurry. I kept closing my eyes as I tried to clear my vision, but nothing helped.

"Do you want to leave the house?" She asked me. 

"No!" I said, catching my mothers attention. She still didn't come over though. Molly placed a hand on my shoulder. I wanted to lean into the touch but it was gone before I could. I opened my eyes and looked at her. This seemed to be the deciding factor in it all.

"I will try to talk to the judge." She told me. I nodded and watched her leave. The others were already gone. Dad looked over at me and sighed.

"If you aren't sure about wanting this, maybe some breathing space would be better. I could take you to my office, or we can talk to Sirius." He sighed. I knew that it was big of him to contact Siri. Especially with what was going on.

"I'd like that." I mumbled. He nodded and grabbed my hand, taking me out of the building. We walked slowly out of the building. The reporters all seemed to ignore us as we left. Once we were out of the building it finally felt like the battle was over. It was then that I felt as though I could breathe again. That the tightness in my lungs finally let go. That I could do anything and he would help me get there. It felt like I had someone in my corner.


	18. Andromeda

Sirius had contacted me before he sent the notice out. I knew I couldn't stop him from doing what he was planning, but I could do damage control. With enough warning, I was able to take the time to prepare a case for and against him. Sadly, there was more than enough evidence that supported his case. He is the godfather of Harry, and his mother had violated her orders of not discussing the case with Harry. However, he was not involved with the case. Unless they took it to the entire counsel. In which case, it would be his business to give Harry another witness.

Regardless, I had no idea what was waiting for me when I arrived at the ministry. Amelia had sent out letters, demanding our attention within the hour. Somehow the press was informed of the situation. This was not from me, and I knew Lady and Lord Potter didn't like the press. Especially when it came to their family. I was able to avoid the reporters by entering through the guest entrance. I went through the security rather quickly and headed straight to the office. Once it was over I would talk to Harry. Luckily we were summoned rather quickly. It was difficult to talk to Lady Potter when she was furious.

"Lady Tonks, why are we here when I decided yesterday what was to be done?" Amelia asked. I half expected Sirius to come in and explain. Of course, he wasn't invited to this meeting. So he didn't know it was happening, at least I had hope that he didn't. If so there would be a lot of explaining for him to do.

"My cousin, Harry's godfather, has learned of the situation. He wishes to take custody." I informed Amelia. Lily still looked furious, and I knew nothing would calm her down. Her hair was not the only resemblance she had to an active flame.

"He states that since Lady Potter is determined to represent herself and her husband in court, it would be unreasonable to leave Harry in that house." I continued, not mentioning that I still agreed with this. This would do me no good in the long run.

"He has no reason to involve himself in this trial. We haven't spoken to him for over a year." Lady Potter said, her eyes narrowing at me. I sighed, this would not go well at all. He still had a good argument in this.

"I also would like to point out that Lady Potter was heard telling my client that, 'this case will blow over soon' with Mrs. Weasley present." I said. Lady Potter flushed red, and her eyes seemed to dim. She was in trouble now

"Lady Potter, is this true?" Amelia asked. Lily exploded, all the fire returning to her eyes. 

"Of course I did. This case is ridiculous. I needed to find out why my child is doing this!" This was not about to work in her favor. Mrs. Weasley then rushed into the room, pausing the explosion in seconds.

"I am so sorry that I am late." She apologized. Amelia nodded and let Molly sit. Lady Potter refused to look in her direction. There seemed to be an issue between them. At least, there was something that had happened or was said.

"Have you spoken with the defendant?" Madame Bones asked.

"Yes, once today as well." Mrs. Weasley responded. Good, then maybe this will work in Harry's favor. He needed all the help he could get at this point.

"Harry is very confused about what is happening." She continued. Amelia nodded and looked over at Lily before looking back at us.

"What do you think about Lord Black's motion?" She asked. Like that, the argument was over. Molly wouldn't remove him from the house. Nor would she remove Lady Potter. This would not go over well for anyone. Unless Harry leaves willingly.

"There is not enough for me to go on just yet. My gut does tell me that it would be a mistake to remove Harry from his home." She said, proving my point. I have come to the conclusion that Sirius would not be happy when he finds out the results of this meeting. I also predict that Lily would have an angry mutt in her face by the court date.

"That settles it then. I will not be removing Harry from his home. However, Lady Potter, If I hear about you talking about this case with your child again I will remove him myself." She informs Lily. I gasped but didn't comment. Instead, I calmly packed up my things and prepared to leave.

"Lady Tonks, inform Mr. Black that I do not want to hear from him until the court date." She tells me as we left. As we all gathered outside of the office, we saw that Harry and James were not there. Lily sighed and looked over at us. 

"Would you like help out of the building?" Molly asked Lily. The younger redhead nodded and left with her. I made it out with little issues, the reporters were more interested in Lily. When Lily left Molly turned to me, not looking happy.

"I thought that you agreed that it would be best to keep him in the home?" She asked. I shook my head.

"I said that removing him from the home was not the best idea. His godfather wanted to take him out for the case. I have no control over that man." I informed her. Molly huffed as she looked at me.

"He is only ten years old. He has no business leaving his life behind, even if it is for a week." She informs me. I sometimes forget that she has a ten-year-old. Maybe she could take him in. Granted that would be against protocol. 

"With all due respect, I have no say in my cousin's affairs. He wants temporary custody of his godson. Harry might have been venting to him about this. Maybe he heard it from James. Regardless, there is a perfect reason for Sirius to want him out of the home." I tell her. She knows I have nothing to do with this. Even if it looked like it. Lily should have known that Sirius would do this sooner or later. After what he told me when Harry was left alone in the hospital for a few days.

"Regardless of what Lord Black may want, this is not about him. This is about Harry. Harry doesn't want to say goodbye to his mom. He wants things to be over. He told me that he doesn't want to leave. Maybe if you or Sirius actually sat him down and told him what was happening, he would change his mind. He is a child. He has no reason to be talked to as an adult. He doesn't understand legal speak. I am not sure what you told him, or if you told him anything. Next time, talk to Harry before you make a decision." She said before popping off. I sighed and looked around before following her lead. We would talk about this later. 

Once I get home I write my letter to Sirius about what happened. I knew that I would be expecting him to stop by later. Maybe I can call Molly over, and we can all formulate a game plan. For now, all I needed was to sit down. This case would end in a death, and it was starting to look like my own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I am thinking about posting twice a week for now. I am way behind where I wanted to be posting wise with this fic. I will be posting the next chapter on Thursday as always regardless. Let me know if you guys want two chapters a week!
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are welcomed. Constructive criticism is also welcomed.


	19. Charlus

Most of the time I am left alone at home. When Jasmine was in the hospital, it happened more often than not. Sometimes I go to the neighbors, though most of the time I end up with my group. This was not one of those times. This time I am sitting in the living room when there was a knock on the door. When I answered it, there was this older woman. She looked a lot like the twins in my year. The same red hair, though her eyes were more of a brown colour than theirs. 

"Hello, are you Charlus?" She asked me. I nodded and invited her in. I still have no idea who she is, and honestly, she could be a robber or kidnapper. 

"I am Molly Weasley, I am your brother's guardian ad litem." She informs me like I should know what that is.

"Does this have to do with Harry's case against our parents?" I asked, a little nervous to be honest. She looked mad, which never boded well for me. I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"How much have they told you?" I shrugged, after all, I knew enough. Her core wasn't working properly. That was because a soul somehow was on it. Harry gave her new magic in the hope of her keeping it and making her own. 

"I know why, but I can't say that I understand it all." Is what I chose to tell her. Keep her arm's length. When this is over, she will be gone. 

"Is there anything you want to tell me?" She asked. I shrugged, and she frowned. I began to walk to the couch and we both sat down. I figured that this may take a while before she decided to leave.

"How about we talk about how it's like living here?" She asked. I took a deep breath as I took in the words. This is a trap. It has to be. No one wants to know these things. Teachers didn't care, it was just a paper. Professors don't ask. Healers just ask to pass the time. Still, there may be a chance. Maybe.

"Which part of living here?" She rolled her eyes and seemed to plot her next move. 

"Your siblings? How do you get along?" Or maybe not. 

"Jasmine survives me and Harry avoids me like the plague." Maybe I am stretching it a bit. Harry does talk to me, more so recently. He usually is with our sister. 

"How is it to grow up here?" She then asked. That one is tough. It is easier to find moments than to explain. Even then, it is hard as it is to find a specific moment. 

"When I was around nine, Jasmine had a treatment go wrong. When they tried to remove the mass they hit her spinal cord." I tried to remember the details of this one, but it was blurry. There was so much that had happened that month. 

"They took Harry to donate again, leaving me alone. This was the middle of summer, and it was close enough to the next round anyway. But it was on a day my uncle Remus couldn't watch me. Uncle Sirius was on duty for his job and I ended up next door." She looked interested in what I was telling her. This was one of the first times I told this story in particular. It was not an oddity, it was normal for me. Even back then. 

"The family had much older kids, so I was alone. At the time I started getting into trouble with the neighborhood kids more often, and these were one of the few kids that I didn't know. Anyways, I was stuck there and I was angry. I don't know why I was so angry at the time. So I decided to sneak out and go with the neighborhood kids I got into trouble with. Except when I left, I had to hop the fence. My trousers got snagged on the gate and I ended up ripping them. I also got a large cut on my leg." I still had the scar, though it was barely visible. 

"By the time they noticed I was gone, I had already been in two fights and was on my way back home. My dad picked me up the next day and told me that something had gone wrong with the donation and Harry was staying for a few days. I was shipped off to my cousin Andie's for the rest of the week. Mum didn't notice the hole in my trousers nor did she seem to notice the scar on my leg." I picked at the fabric of my trousers, trying to remember her question. 

"That is how it is like growing up in this family." When I looked up, I could see Molly frowning. It didn't sit well with me. I don't do well with sympathy. I try to avoid talking about my family for a reason.

“Is it the same for Harry?” I wanted to snort. How little does she know about this family? I may be the family screw up, but I was supposed to be the easy kid for a reason.

“Harry is on their radar. He has to be safe so he can help Jasmine. If he has a spike of accidental magic too large, Dumbledore is in the house not long after.” I tell her. She doesn’t look pleased with the response, so I reiterate. 

“Harry plays into their plans for Jasmine. She needs to be ready for the next dark lord. She is the savior. Harry has a place in this puzzle.” I tell her. She sighed and placed her hand on my shoulder. It took everything in me to not shrug her off. 

“How is their decision made? On if Harry donates or not?” What decision? There is none, it just happens. 

“What are you talking about?” I tried to keep my tone neutral. My heartbeat became audible to me and I clenched my fist, digging my nails into my palms. Not now.

“When do they decide that Harry will donate?” She asked me. I shook my head and forced myself to look away from her. 

“There isn’t a procedure or a choice. They just do it.” I hope that explained enough. I don’t think I can handle any more questions. Not now. She kept quiet, though I wasn’t sure if it was due to my answer or if she had nothing left to say. I could still clearly see the stains on the gate from outside the window. No one got to live down their mistakes here. 

When I was about eight I decided I wanted to run away. Things were getting harder at home, and it seemed like Jasmine was getting worse. For weeks I collected coins and any paper money I found around the house. Living with the Muggles couldn’t be that bad after all. What I didn’t think about is what would happen when it got dark. I didn’t know the area past the church at the end of the road. 

The night I finally decided to leave, everyone was at home. I had been scolded for something I can’t remember. Probably pinching Harry or saying something to Jasmine. Anyways I climbed down the tree near my window with my bag full of clothes. I had made it a block before it was completely dark. I kept walking, not sure of when I would stop. All I knew was that the dirt soon turned into cement as I hit the pavement. That’s a lie, I also knew I was hopelessly lost. 

I looked around helplessly, trying to find anything familiar. It was too dark for me to see anything, and I was too tired to keep moving. Somehow my dad knew where I was. He showed up within seconds and picked me up. I had never felt so secure in my life, and wouldn’t feel that way again for a long time. He carried me back to the house, refusing to put me down until we reached the living room. I hadn’t gone that far. I was on the street behind us. 

Maybe, I wasn’t as lost as any of us thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm the author and I feel so bad for Charlus. His chapters tend to be my favorite to write though. Anyways the new posting schedule will be Mondays and Thursdays. This won't change unless something comes up. 
> 
> For this comments game, which character is your favorite to read the POV of?


	20. James

It takes Harry twenty minutes to pack, it took me ten. It then took Harry five minutes to settle in my personal safe house. The office was no place for Harry to stay and Sirius told me the verdict when I called him as Harry packed. We both decided that the safe house would be the best option as Remus, Sirius and I were the only ones to know the location. It was supposed to be our first house, then I got married. It was still in good condition. 

The house itself was three bedrooms. It has a small kitchen and a sitting room. There was a fireplace that was connected to the floo network and it was under the fidelius charm. Sirius was the secret keeper for it, which came in handy. The house would be perfect for the week. Harry had moved all of his things into the spare bedroom. Sirius had agreed to come down for the remainder of the week, which eased my worries. He would be safe 

"Do you think he will be okay?" Sirius asked. I sighed as I shook my head. I think he will come out of this scarred. He may be tough, but I know my wife. She will come down fighting for Jasmine. 

"I think that he needs space. I want to think that no one will come out hurt in the end." I sighed. Sirius placed a hand on my shoulder and I sighed. I missed this. I missed having him on my side. 

"Look, Sirius. I'm sorry." I tell him. He gives me a sad smile and patted my shoulder.

"Go check on the kid." He tells me. I tried to protest but he didn't listen.

"He needs you more than I do. We can talk later. Now, go check on the kid." He said, pushing me towards the room Harry picked. It was odd, how persistent he could be. I wasn't used to the godfather Sirius. It was nice to see the change in people when it was for the good. Once I got in there I saw that Harry was reading one of the many books Remus stored in here. I couldn't read the title, though it looked higher than my reading level.

"So, do you want to play cards?" I asked. Harry looked up and gave me a confused look.

"Like exploding snaps?" He asked. The tone he used made me feel dumb for asking. I couldn't remember the last time Harry had been interested in card games. It had to have been at least three years ago, though it could have been longer.

"Maybe we can play chess then?" Harry set the book down and shook his head. Was he even interested in games? I can't remember the last time I actually had a conversation with my own kid. Between treatments and work, it seemed like there was no time. Dinner conversations were enough. At least that is what I told myself for years now.

"What are you interested in doing then?" I finally asked. Harry smiled and sat down next to me. 

"I do like card games and gobstones." It was a start. He leaned on me as we talked about his likes and dislikes. It was so odd knowing that I had no clue who he was this morning. It was like meeting a new friend, there was so much you thought you knew about them. Then you learn that they are so different and even better than you imagined. He likes to play different muggle card games, though not the ones I was familiar with.

"War, it's pretty simple. You place down cards at the same time and the one with the bigger card wins." He also doesn't like some of the ones that I did know.

"Go Fish is for toddlers dad." He laughed, laying his head on my lap. I have no idea when the last time he had done this. As he laid on me it reminded me of when he was much smaller, doing the same thing. He wanted to wait for Father Christmas to come. He tried so hard to stay awake, but he fell asleep around ten that night. It was that day I realized he was too tall to sit on my hip anymore. Sirius helped me carry him upstairs and after that, I had to deal with the knowledge that he was growing up.

Some fish will grow until they cannot fit anymore. Certain plants will grow regardless of how you move them. Certain kids will grow when you aren't looking. He grew faster than I was willing to watch. What I would do to go back in time. To watch him a little more. Then maybe, maybe I would have seen him turn into the man he is becoming. 

I went to visit Jasmine after Harry fell asleep. Sirius told me he would watch him while I was gone. Once I got there, Jasmine had fallen asleep during the transfer. At least, that is what it looked like. Lily stepped out of the room when she noticed I was there.

"How is she?" I whispered. Lily sighed and glanced back at our daughter.

"She is about the same. The healers are storing her magic for the removal. They said that they didn't want to risk tainting it when they take it out. " She explained. I sighed and looked back at her. She looked so small when she was in that bed. 

"How's Harry?" She asked. I sighed and gave her the so-so hand motion. He was better now, but still not completely better. He would never be that.

"I took him to the old HQ. Figured he could use some alone time." I lied. Well, partially lied. I couldn't tell her where I actually took him after all. 

"He won't be alone, he is with you." She pointed out. At least that never changed, she was always there to point out the flaws in your logic.

"Is it so bad to be on his side? Is it that bad that he doesn't deserve to have this?" It isn't, at least not to me. Not to Sirius. Hell, not even to Andie, who I spoke with about moving her. The judge may think so, but Harry needed this. Jasmine has Lily, she always will have her. Harry needs someone. So does Charlus, and it hurts that it took me this long to see that.

"Yes. Do you think that giving in to this tantrum will help him? In the long run, this might do more damage than good." She said. Sometimes it is hard for me to remember she does love all of our kids. In times like this, I normally would stay at work for a few days to get away from it all.

"I am not giving in. He needs some space. Giving him the room to breathe is not giving in. Harry always comes to the right conclusion. He just needs time to collect his thoughts. It's been this way since he was two." I reminded her. 

"He needs to act his age James." Lily huffed. I ran my hand through my hair and glanced around. It felt like the hallways expanded in the seconds that we were standing here. How could it get to this point? Why didn't either of us see that we were this bad?

"You weren't the one that was sitting out there with him. I am worried about him." I told her. Lily crossed her arms and glared at me. Was it possible to fall out of love with someone with a single gesture?

"That is where we are different. I am worried about both of them." She said. Sometimes it is hard to remember who she used to be. Back before all of Jasmine's treatments started. Then sometimes, I see a glimmer of who she was before. The way her eyes light up or when she is giving someone that smile. The moment when I am able to say there she is. I've missed you. I leaned over and kissed her head before heading out. She knew how to contact me if she needed me. Right now, Harry needed me more than her. 

It was a slow night that night and I was able to head home earlier. Normally when these nights happen I go to a pub or I stay in my office. It was weird, coming home to a quiet house. This meant that Harry was asleep. That meant that I was alone with Sirius. It truly had been forever since I got the time or the chance to really sit and talk to him since Harry's last treatment at the hospital. That was over a year ago now, but it still felt fresh.

"What is actually happening James?" He asked me as we sat at the dining room table. He laid back in his chair and ran his hand through his tangled hair. I sighed and shook my head, there is so much going on now. 

"Jasmine is dying and we all know it. Harry doesn't want to donate, which can make it happen faster. Either that thing is going to grow to large and she will be a shell of herself or her magic is going to all come back at once." I said, laughing sadly. Sirius sat up and patted my arm.

"She will be fine. Jazz is tough." He said. The promise was empty and we both knew it. I shook my head and let my thoughts wander. The silence gave me enough time to think. It wasn't harsh like it has been.

"So why? Why did you blow up like that?" I finally asked him.

"Harry was alone in that bed when I got there. He didn't know anything about what happened. He didn't know if Jazz was safe. He didn't know if he was safe. He didn't even know when he was going home. I couldn't stand the terrified look on his face." Sirius said. It came flooding back on what had happened that night. The way Sirius had left the house in a hurry. What he had said as he left. 

"You need to promise me something." I tell him. Sirius gave me a confused look but he still nodded as a response. 

"Get custody of him if he loses the trial." There was no way he would survive if what had happened happens again. Sirius promises me and I am left alone with my thoughts. Just when I was about to head to bed I notice a flash of light outside. I also heard the footsteps of my son, who apparently was still awake. 

"Dad, it's starting early." He said. I nodded and led him to the roof. We sat there and looked up as we watched the lights in the sky move. The lights were there for a moment before the next one came. Harry was memorized by them. 

"Do you think it will be like this tomorrow night?" He asked. I had no idea. Stars and planets were Sirius's forte. I still appreciated them though. They were amazing to look at and you could tell the stories of every constellation if you knew them well enough.

"Can Jasmine see them?" He then asked, not noticing that I didn't answer. Again, I didn't know.

"Probably." I say. It wasn't likely, but she might. She would enjoy this too. They all did when they were still small enough to sit on mine, Lily, and Sirius's laps. Back when things were simple enough that things like this could happen.

"I know you want to know why I'm doing this." He whispered as he looked up at the sky. His eyes were glued on the stars and flashing lights that painted the night sky.

"You don't need to tell me anything." I promise. He doesn't speak, letting the wind do all the talking. There was no point in me knowing. There was no point in him telling anyone. It was his reason. If he thought that this needed to happen, then maybe we didn't listen enough before. Still, sitting at this moment. With him laying his head on my shoulder. Us looking at the night sky in silence. It spoke louder than any words he could have said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have 11 chapters left to write before I am actually finished writing this fic. I am curious what you guys think will happen at the end of this fic. Let me know in the comments below!


	21. Andromeda July 5th

I was not expecting a letter from Sirius that morning. Not after him being told to stay away from the case anyways. Yet there he was, asking me to head over to the Weasley’s home to discuss the case. Regardless of his involvement, I did need to speak to Molly, so I headed over as soon as possible. That being after I stopped by St. Mungos to attempt in retrieving a copy of the files. 

“Excuse me, do you have a file of a Harry James Potter?” I asked the witch at the desk, She gave me an irritated look as she turned around. When she looked back at me she shook her head.

“We have no record of a patient under that name.” She informed me. I could feel my eyebrows furrowing up and I placed a hand on the desk.

“Then a Jasmine Potter.” I said. She turned back around and then handed me a rather thin folder.

“You may make one copy of it.” She informed me. I wanted to ask why it was this easy for me to obtain them, then I remembered that this trial was technically a public one. Either that or Sirius pulled some strings. Once I obtained my copy I headed straight to the Burrow. 

When I arrived I should have known that something was wrong. There was little to no noise coming from the usually busy home. There was no child in sight, and when I entered the home there was even less noise. 

“Sirius? Mrs. Weasley?” I called out. Sirius’s head popped out from the door frame that led to the dining room. I headed over to him and he led me to the table. 

“Oh Lady Black, thank you for coming.” Molly said, handing me a cup of tea. 

“It is no trouble, but I do wonder what we need to discuss with you, my dear cousin?” I asked Sirius. 

“Were you able to obtain Harry’s file?” He asked me. I gave him a look before shaking my head. 

“No, though you have no reason to know I was trying to get them.” I said. Molly gave me a worried look.

“I wasn’t able to obtain it either. With Jasmine’s files, I only got the records of her first few examins. The one when they first found out she was sick.” Molly explained. I looked down at my thin copy and winced. 

“That would explain the size of mine. I haven’t gotten to look at it.” I say. Sirius nodded and looked at the file. 

“When she first got sick James and Lily went through Poppy to get Jasmine’s examinations done. There is no written record since it was done as a favor. She only went back to St. Mungos when Dumbledore arranged it.” He tells us.

“Are you saying-” I begin to ask but Molly nodded, surprising me. 

“According to their other son, Dumbledore comes whenever Harry has accidental magic. It sounds like he is involved much more than he should. Even as a mentor.” She says. 

“If he is pulling the strings, at least medically, that would mean-” I begin and Sirius nodded. 

“There is something they don’t want us to know. Though, with those kids, they all probably know exactly what is happening.” Sirius said. I mulled over this information before deciding that I needed to talk to Jasmine, see if she knew what was happening. 

“What do we do now?” I asked them. 

“We need to keep Harry away from that house.” Sirius said immediately. Molly instantly jumped on that idea.

“He is ten years old, he has no reason to be torn away from his life.” She insisted. I sighed and placed my head on my hands. 

“Mrs. Weasley, if there is a plot involved in this. It would make the most sense that Harry is kept away from it all. Perhaps it would do some good to have Harry spend the week with someone else. I am sure he would enjoy spending time with your sons.” I tell her. Her face flushed slightly, it is obvious she hadn’t thought of that. 

“Oh, well Ron may like having someone his age to spend time with.” She said. I nodded and looked at Sirius.

“Any objections?” I asked. He likely had a few, after all, he did not get along with Molly all that well. 

“Nope, we just need to ask him. Speaking of which, do you know where he is?” He asked me. I shook my head. Molly did as well, but her youngest chose that moment to walk in. 

“Mummy, I need help.” The girl said. Molly sighed and looked at us. 

"Harry seems to be all over what he wants right now. You need to make sure that he knows exactly what he wants by Monday." Molly tells us before scurrying out of the room. Sirius glanced at me before standing, apparently preparing to leave. I sat still, mulling over what was just presented to me.

I had no idea how to respond to what they just told me. Dumbledore was involved? From the sounds of it, there may be more than Harry donating magic. That didn’t make sense though. I had always assumed he was the leader of the light. The symbol of pure magic and all the things that had been drilled into me by my family. They may have hated the man but they knew what he stood for. Or so they thought. Even then, do we have a full case at all? With Harry being how he is? There was much to plan with so little time.

"Do you want to head to my current pad?" Sirius then asked. I nodded and grabbed a hold of his hand, letting him take me to his current residence. 

Once we arrived I was underwhelmed by the amount of red and gold. It was clear that this was designed by my cousin, who always went all out. I noticed that the home was rather small, with a few bedrooms and a combined kitchen and dining room.

"What do you think?" He asked me. I looked at him with a straight face, not wanting to give away my true emotions. 

"Gotcha." He sighed, sitting down on a stool. I looked around once again before resigning myself to pulling out a chair and sitting there. 

"Is there a reason for you wanting to bring me here?" I asked. 

“Harry is staying here with James and I. Though that is not what I wanted to talk about. There is something else you need to know about the case.” He said. I nodded and he jumped in on what he knew, from how Dumbledore had been calling the shots on her treatments to what he remembered being told. 

“He thinks there may be a Horcrux. James told me that they are planning on removing it from her, but the problem is that if they do there may be permanent damage to her spine and her core. That is where the Horcrux is supposed to be at.” He said. I shuddered at the thought, there may be more damages that come from this. 

“What about Harry?” I asked. He sighed and looked down.

“Don’t tell the kid, but if her core is damaged they may try to give her his. That surgery could kill him and her in the process.” He said. Before I could respond we heard a bell ringing and Sirius shot up to go answer the call. I couldn't hear what he was saying, but I didn't want to. Not when I could see how dangerous it was that Harry didn't know all of this. That he had no way of knowing what would and could come from this. 

"I'll be right there kid, don't worry." I heard Sirius say from the other room. I glanced up at him and gave him a confused look when he walked back into the room.

"Is everything alright?" I asked. He shook his head and grabbed my hand.

"That was Harry, he is at the police station closest to the manor." He told me before apparating us down the street from the station. Once we got there Sirius and I ran down the street. Once inside we see Harry sitting in a chair and he turns over and ran over to us. 

"You need to help Siri, Charlus got arrested." He said. Sirius instantly sighed and looked around. 

"I understand you are upset kid, but I am not qualified to testify for him in this world." Sirius whispered. 

"Why don't you call your mum?" I said in annoyance, still irritated from yesterday. Sirius rolled his eyes as he looked down at Harry.

"You his uncle?" A man asked. Sirius instantly nodded and walked over to the desk.

"What happened?" He asked. The man began to explain how a woman called the emergency number when she saw the two boys fighting. The first boy's parents had already picked him up and Charlus needed a relative to come get him. They also needed to speak about future plans for curving his behavior. I looked down at Harry and pulled him out of the building, apparating us to the leaky cauldron.

"You hungry?" I asked him. Harry nodded and we both walked in. 

"Hello Lady Tonks, what can I get for you?" Tom asked from the bar.

"Two orders of fish and chips, one butterbeer and one pumpkin juice to go." I told him before leading Harry to a table. 

"What happened really?" I asked him. 

"Charlie has this gang I guess. They fight all the time and he usually comes home with cuts and bruises. Sometimes bones are broken. It's been getting worse since this started." Harry admitted. This was not good, this was not good at all. 

"Does your mum know?" I asked. Harry shrugged and looked away for a second.

"I think we all know something is going on. I am not sure if they know specifics though. With everything that has been happening. I think mum ignores it. She doesn't need to worry about more things. Not when Jazz is always sick." If he didn't want his mum to worry then why was he doing this case? I held my tongue though and grabbed our food and drinks before apparating back to the station. Harry and I ate out front waiting for them.

Twenty minutes after we returned Sirius stepped out with Charlus in hand. The kid looked exhausted and was leaning on him for support. This was not something that would bode well against the Potters, though from what I understood that may not matter in the long run. Not if they were going to take Dumbledore's decision. 

"What you did was incredibly stupid." Sirius scolded. Charlus nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

"I didn't mean for it to get that far. I lost control." He mumbled. Sirius sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Look, kid, I can't help you if you don't ask. If it weren't for Harry they would have needed to take you away. Do you want that?" He asked the boy. Charlus shook his head and looked down at his feet.

"I'm sorry Siri." He mumbled. The more I looked at the second oldest child, the more lost he seemed. His parents failed him and he expected everyone to do the same. This family was not doing its job, and I fear for Harry if this case doesn't go as planned. He might end up like this or worse. 

"Hey Andie, thanks for doing this. Harry needs it." Charlus said as Sirius led him away. I nodded and looked over at Harry. 

"You ready?" I asked the boy. He nodded and looked down at the ground. I then grabbed his hand, apparating right over there. Once we got there I noticed a long road with many small houses. This seemed like one of the places that the order would have had their HQ's back in the day. Harry began his descent down the street and I followed next to him. 

My mind instantly went to the information that I was given earlier today. If Dumbledore was as involved as Sirius made it sound, there was no way it would go well. Amelia had power, but we would have to be sneaky about it. Granted she needed to know then, and I was unsure if she did know. It would be too late to mention it since it would change the court date again. This was not looking good, it was not looking good at all. With how indecisive Harry has been, well the case might fall apart. Even if we did win, he needed to prove that he could stand up for himself after I was gone. He needed to know that him changing his mind constantly would end this case before it began.

"Harry, we need to talk about the case." I say, not sure how to tell him what he needs to do. He huffed and stopped walking, looking right up at me.

"If this is about Charlus then I'm sorry. I had no idea who to call and I wasn't about to let him sit in that cell." He said. I understood that the kid wasn't even a teenager yet. There was no way anyone would leave him in there alone. Also, he is ten, what could he have done really?

"I am saying that if you win, you will be making big decisions. You need to act like an adult for them to pass this." I explained. He glanced down at his trainers and huffed, as though he were about to sass me. 

"Don't you think I know that?" He asked. I instantly found myself glaring at the boy. If he shows this attitude in court there was no way he would sway Amelia. Let alone the entire Wizardgnot.

"Harry, you don't seem to understand. Neglecting to tell me about Dumbledore's involvement is an issue. He is the chief and if he knows about the case, this won't be a simple court case in front of Amelia in her office. This will have representatives from over twenty families deciding your fate." I told him. He didn't say anything. Instead, he swung his leg and turned around. I watched him start walking before I followed him. This child was not getting it and I was starting to doubt he ever would. This was bad. This was going to be bad for everyone involved. 

"You know what I think Harry, I think you don't know what you want." I said when I caught up to him. He looked up at me and glared. 

"Says who?" He asked. 

"Molly, your mum and maybe even Amelia if you keep this up. I took this case because I wanted to help you. If I am going to do that, you need to make up your mind quickly. If not, there is no getting you out of this." I said. He glared again and looked right up at me in the eyes.

"I want them to ask me what I want. I want them to stop sending me back to that bloody bed every time she gets worse. I am done being hurt and I am even more bloody done of never being hurt enough for them to notice." He said before running off down the road. I watched him go before he seemed to vanish. There was one thing about Harry that never ceased to amaze me. That kid could make a crowd listen if he wanted to. That bad thing is that no adult would take this as seriously as it is. 


	22. James

There was something odd when Harry and Andie walked through the door. There was something even more off by how ticked off Harry looked and how that look matched the one on Andie's face. Harry ran off to his room when they arrived and I was left to speak with Andie, which was not something I was particularly looking forwards to when I found out who was representing my child. 

"Tea?" I offered. She shook her head and sat down at the table, I then sat across from her and looked down. I felt like I was about to be sentenced to life in prison. Granted my life would likely feel like I was in prison soon enough, with how this case may turn out. Though I would prefer prison than the alternative. 

"I am assuming you are here to talk about the case." I say as I sipped my cup. She nodded and placed her hands gently on the table. 

"Yes, I am afraid that your son has given me a difficult case." She tells me. I nodded and sighed, she wasn't wrong. Though she was likely talking about something other than how my family would be after this was over. 

"I can't imagine that a young boy not wanting to-well you know what he is doing. Anyways any sane adult would not force him to go through with it." I said. She gave me a look that told me I wasn't wrong. It also told me that I was not a sane adult. 

"Sirius told me that you both moved out." She then said, changing the topic. I nodded and looked over at Harry's door. 

"He needed a break and I did as well." I said, chuckling a little. She looked a bit amused, though that look went away as soon as we heard Harry shuffling around in the room. There was also a loud crash.

"You okay in there?" I called out. He shouted something that sounded like an affirmation. 

"His magic has been- well up until this all started he would get large burst of magic and things tend to break." I tell her. We would always mention these bursts to Dumbledore when he was younger, back when we were constantly worried if he was using too much. We never worried about that with Charlus, I never noticed it since we kept track of Jasmine and Harry's. Andie looked as though she was making a mental note of something before she continued. 

"Since Lily is acting as her own counsel, she will be speaking for you as well." She said. I sighed, leaned back, and ran a hand through my hair. 

"I didn't ask her to do that. In fact, I have begged her to find someone to speak for her." I said. I really didn't want to be this directly involved. 

"This also means that you really shouldn't be talking to me." She added. I knew that, I have sat through so many of these that I lost track. Granted, I have never heard of a child taking their parents to court. We only used the court system, how limited it may be, for Askaban sentencing. 

"I am aware. I also am aware that you wouldn't be doing this if you didn't think it had any merit. I also know my wife is-" crazy? Brash? "-stubborn." I finally settled on.  


"This isn't our only battle though, far from it. Harry's needs and Jasmine's needs have never coexisted. We always tried to treat them as such, but they could never be. One child is more ill than you may think." I told her. She nodded and gave me a sympathetic look. Something tells me that she has thought about this quite a bit before now. 

"I am terribly sorry about what is happening to Jasmine. Her case is a tragedy. Though this is not about her right now." She tells me, and I know. I am well aware of that. 

"I have been wanting to speak to you." I then say, making her look and I looked away.

"Lily doesn't know that I'm telling you this but Jasmine has a Horcrux, that is what is causing the problem." She didn't look as shocked but that didn't matter to me right now. She needs to hear all of this before I can explain any more. 

"She is getting surgery to remove it, but that won't fix her magic production. That is if she survives the surgery, and if she does then her magic might not come back on its own." I continued. She nodded along and I continued my little explanation. 

"If he loses this case he is going to die. It may not be from the surgery, but It will be because of Jasmine. If she gets worse after they remove the Horcrux, they won't stop until she is stable." I tell her. She shakes her head and places a hand on top of mine. 

"Harry is tough." She tries to assure me but I know it's not enough.

"Dumbledore believes that Jasmine will have to take down the Dark Lord if he returns. He says that there is this prophecy that claims it. I don't know much about that whole situation, you know how our headmaster was. All I know is that Lily believes him to the point that she would sacrifice both of our sons if it was needed." I explained. She nodded, indicating that she understood. 

"Which is why I agree with Harry doing this. He needs to take control of his own body back. If he doesn't then I may lose him." I finish. She looked at me straight in the eyes, a gleam appearing in them. It was one that many of the Black family had and it sent chills down my spine. She was planning something. 

"If you are willing to testify for Harry, then I think that we have a real chance of winning this." She tells me. I almost wanted to cry in relief, but I held it together. If I could do this without ruining everything, we may survive this battle. 

"Also, you may want to have a chat with Sirius and your other boy. We just bailed him out." She said. I stared at her in shock. Before I could ask her what she meant she got up and left. I wasn't sure what we would do about Charlus, but now was not the time. I already had enough on my plate, and from the sounds of Harry's room, it wouldn't stop after this court case. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know it's short. There will be shorter chapters coming up. There also will be much longer chapters too.


	23. Lily 1986

There are some points in time I am very happy that I learned some basic medical spells. From bruises to cuts I am able to wave my wand and fix it in a second. I also have fixed a broken finger once, though that was a one-time thing and I am never going to attempt it again. Other times, I wish I had just been an apprentice under Poppy or any other healer. It would be better than rushing to the one place we avoid at all costs with our youngest child in my arms. 

"I think he broke his arm. There is no bleeding but his arm is purple and swelling." I told the woman at the front desk when we reach her. She nodded and summoned down a healer. We were in and out of the hospital rather quickly. As we headed out the door Charlus was questioning why Harry didn't need a cast. Jasmine, on the other hand, looked happy enough with her day. 

"I think I prefer being in the waiting room." She tells me as we walk down the busy street of Diagon Ally. We should have known this was the last normal day that year. 

We first noticed the signs like we always do, her walking starts to get weird. Her teacher reported it to us one day at pick up and we instantly began to keep an eye on it. She wasn't complaining about pain so we didn't think anything was too out of place. Our daughter was clumsy and probably stood up wrong. A week later we noticed another sign, or at least Harry did. One morning when we were getting breakfast ready Harry came down before either of his siblings did. Normally he would just hang out in Jasmine's room since he preferred to play with her. 

"Good morning Harry." I said cheerfully, putting eggs on his plate.

"Mummy, Jasmine had an accident." He said. That instantly got my attention and I headed up to her room. The pieces fell together in my mind and when she started complaining about back pain a few days later we were back in Dumbledores office. 

"She isn't getting better." I said, trying not to think about what this meant. She was just in there not too long ago. It wasn't like when she was a toddler and we were in and out once or twice a year for exams after she got her core fixed. This was almost once a month now, we just took her out of school to be homeschooled because I had no idea how long this one would go or last. 

"Relapses are to be-" He began but I had enough of hearing this. Relapses are to be expected. I know this. That doesn't mean I can't be angry. 

"You said she would get through this. I don't even know if she is going to make it through this month. The doctor told me that the mass has doubled in size." I tell him. She could become paralyzed, or lose her magic. Who knows what the Horcrux can do to her this time? 

"There is something we can try. Though we will need to see how she reacts to this treatment. I do not wish to raise your hopes just yet." He tells me. I just nod and head home, knowing that there is a plan in place eases my nerves. 

The next day we have to take her in to get started on her preparation for the transplant. Jasmine couldn't sleep the night before and we knew that saying goodbye this time would be harder than the last. Charlus refused to come down from his room and Harry camped out on the couch with Remus. By the time we got Jasmine ready to leave no one wanted to say goodbye. Then we were off, and I had no idea when we would be back. 

There is a difference between healers and medwitches and wizards. The healers were the ones that come in to run diagnostics, prescribe potions, and get you out the door. On normal occasions, they are the ones you see when you get here and that is that. On our floor that is not the case. We are the floor that medwitches and wizards come in and check your charts. They come in and chat with you as they explain the thing they are trying next. They are the ones that talk to your child as they are trying to breathe through the pain of what put them in here. Though there is no pediatric ward here, and there aren't enough children that come through here to make one. Still, Jasmine makes herself at home here. She brings toys, books, and her favorite pajamas when we come in. We never know how long she is going to stay so we always come prepared. After a while, we gave in and bought her a personal radio to play in her room while she is here. Anything at this point to give her some comfort. 

We come in for Harry's donation on the first, this way he doesn't miss much time from school. Though recovery tends to take a week for him and he is only in year two so there isn't much school work that he will get behind on. As we walk him to his room he starts to shake. With the amount he gets taken from him, it is easier for him to take a sleeping draught and let them do their job. It has been forever since all it took was a simple needle. 

"Mummy, I change my mind." He said, his voice is full of fear. I wince slightly and grab his hand, running my thumb over his little hand. 

"Sweetheart, it is okay if you are scared. Facing your fears is what makes you brave. If you truly don't want to do this you don't have to." I start. I could see him calming down so I continued talking. 

"I know Jasmine is counting on you, so is daddy and so am I." I tell him. This seemed to make up his mind and he didn't request to leave. Instead, he took a big breath and he sat up straight. His healer came in and began to do the whole theatrics she puts on for the children. She waved her wand and the animals that decorated the walls came to life, giving Harry the much-needed distraction.

"Ready to get this show on the road?" He asked. I nodded and so did Harry. She had Harry lay on his belly and they undid his hospital gown. She then cleaned his back before having him sit up.

"Drink this Harry. When you wake up it will all be over." She told him. Harry knew this, but it still took him a few seconds to accept the vial. When she was sure he was asleep she cast a monitor charm on him and pulled out a needle. 

"You can leave now if you wish. This won't be long." She informed me. I took a look at him and winced. Then I remember that Jasmine will be going through the prepping for her procedure and left. She wouldn't be put under and is still afraid of the needle they have to stick in her back. She needs me more right now, at least that is what I tell myself as I head to the lift.

James showed up an hour later, Jasmine was fast asleep at this point. He looked raggedy, and a part of me wanted to tell him off for not showering before coming up here. She could catch something he picked up, we did not need a sicker child. 

"Harry has been calling for you." He said simply. I look back at Jasmine and sighed. I can't just leave her here alone. What if she wakes up and needs her pain potion?

"I am a little busy." I tell him. He looked right back at me and huffed.

"Harry has been calling for you." He repeated, stepping inside the room. I stood up and let him take my seat. I then headed down to Harry's room, this takes me a few minutes and long enough to get out of Jasmine mode. This was probably for the best since when I walked down the hall I could hear him sobbing. This wasn't an I am alone and afraid sob, this one was the one he had when he broke his arm earlier this year. This was a, "something is seriously wrong" sob. 

"Mummy." He cried out when I came into his room. I sat on his bed and pulled him into my arms. I began to rub his shoulders, being sure to avoid his bandaged back. 

"What's wrong love?" I asked him quietly. He looked up at me and I could see how much pain he is in. I didn't know what was wrong though, he was usually a little stiff after these. This was not the same as last time. 

"It hurts mummy." He sniffled. I gathered that much, that didn't tell me anything. I then grabbed his chart that was left on the desk and immediately winced. This was almost double what we were told they were taking. They also haven't given him anything for the pain. I looked back at my sobbing six-year-old and kissed his head. 

"Mummy is going to talk to your healer baby." I told him. He nodded and I left him in there. I found his healer rather easily and dragged her back to the room, only stopping when we were outside of the room. 

"Why haven't you given him anything for this? You took more than normal and he is in pain." I say. She gave me a guilty look before looking over at my son.

"He just woke up when I was last in there and we aren't allowed to give them anything until they are no longer groggy. The pain potions are rather strong for a small child after all." She said. I huffed and looked back at him.

"Just give him something." I said. He needed it after all. So she went in and gave him a child's dose of the pain potion and I went back to sitting on his bed.

"Better darling?" I asked him. He looked up and nodded, his eyes fluttering as the potion made him more and more sleepy.

"Uhuh." He mumbled. I kissed his head again and waited for him to sleep before heading back up to Jasmine's room. 

Two weeks after the donation we finally saw results. It started with her coloration improving, along with her pain going. After that, we saw that she was levitating her book over to her. When the medwitch informed us that there had been no decrease in her magic we were relieved. Two days later it looked as though her magic was coming back, at least a little. She had to stay in her room for a few days but it was worth it for all of us. Remus had taken Charlus and Harry back to the house when Harry was released, which left James and me to have a night to ourselves for the first time since this all started. 

"We should go out. It will be fun, we can hit up Hogsmeade like we are teens." He said. I laughed and agreed, figuring it would be fun. He brought me one of my dresses and one of my nicer robes. Sadly he forgot to grab my heals so I was stuck in the plain shoes that I wore while at the hospital. Still, we were determined to have a nice night. So we walked around the shops, we looked at all the things that we used to enjoy. 

"Do you remember our first date?" He asked me. I nodded, though when I tried to think back to it I really couldn't. I couldn't even remember the last time we went on a date. I don't think he does either for that matter. 

"Did you see the last count on her core? She almost has completely replenished her magic." Then it went back to business as usual. James knew about this, he was with me when we were told the most recent update. I didn't know what to talk to him about. The past is a blur, we have been with each other through the present. We don't talk about the future, that is a topic that is off-limits. 

Jasmine was finally cleared to go the next day. We decided to celebrate this day with her. We planned to have her friends over and a cake, but she didn't want that. Instead, she asked to go into town and to buy her new books. We couldn't say no to that small request. So I tied her hair back on the day we were allowed to take her home. James brought her one of her dresses and we had her corrective shoes so she would walk normally. The day was spent laughing and with big smiles. She ended up getting three new books and that night I had to start reading one. Small victories like these don't happen that often, and I was going to take anything I could get at this time. 

James doesn't come home much anymore. After the last treatment, he seemed to be more distant than usual. Sirius also hasn't been around, though Remus is always here to watch the kids as long as the full moon isn't affecting us. Which is great, since I can use all the help I can get. Tonight though Remus was gone, and I had to put the kids to bed by myself, which has been harder since Jasmine actually feels well for once. 

"Mummy, can you read me two chapters tonight?" She asked me, giving me puppy eyes. I rolled mine and laid in her bed.

"Is that fair to Charlus and Harry, who only got one story?" I asked her. She shook her head and giggled, holding onto my arm. 

"No, but I am the eldest. I should get two chapters." She persisted. I smiled and kissed her head and started her chapter of the current book she was reading. This month was Bridge to Terabithia. Next month who knew what book she would get her hands on. Luckily she fell asleep quickly due to the pain potion she has to take. Once I was sure she was asleep I marked her page and slipped out of her room. It wasn't long until I heard the fireplace roaring and I saw my husband stepping out of it. 

"You're home." I stated, though from the look on his face I said it rather coarsely. 

"You are not my mother." He said. I huffed, not being prepared for another argument with him. 

"I never claimed I was." I said. He rolled his eyes and pushed past me, not even giving me the dignity to look at my face. 

"What, so you can come here after days of not being around then you ignore me? Is that what we are doing now?" I asked him. He didn't respond so I grabbed his arm and pulled him to the kitchen. I didn't need the children to hear this. 

"I don't need this tonight Lily." He said, still not looking at me. So I stood in front of him, not that this made him face me. 

"Neither do I but this is happening. Why haven't you been home? Why have you been leaving so often?" I demanded. He didn't respond. 

"James Potter, you tell me what you have been doing. I know you aren't at work the whole time. Sirius hasn't written to us and Remus is alone tonight. Tell me what has been going on." I demand. 

"It is none of your business what I am doing! If I had known being married to you meant this constant nagging I wouldn't have done it!" He snapped at me. I tried not to gasp but I still let it out. 

"James, what is going on?" I whispered to him. He looked right at me with the anger I haven't seen in years. I made a move to grab my wand and that seemed to set him off.

"I can't take this Lily. The hospital bills and the trips and going every single month to see Dumbledore. The war is over Lily, things were supposed to be fine! I did not sign up for this!" He yelled at me. I glared back and walked towards him.

"You think I did! Do you think I wanted a baby at seventeen? Do you think I wanted to get married right out of Hogwarts? No I didn't, but my wants went away the second Jasmine came into my life. I am going to fight for her until I know she is safe! If you aren't going to do the same then get out." I shouted at him. To my surprise, he headed to the door. With his wand in hand, he left the room and I could only watch him leave. 

"Where are you going?" I asked him. He turned to look at me and I could finally see how tired he actually looked. His eyes were sunken and red and his hair looked as though it hadn't been washed in days. 

"I can't do this anymore Lily." He whispered before falling to his knees. I instantly dropped down to him and held him as he cried into me. I patted his back and cried with him. I couldn't do this alone. There was no way I was strong enough without him by my side. 

"I'm sorry Lily, I'm sorry." He tells me as he cried, I pretend that he didn't say what he said. I pretend that we will actually get through this one. 

The thing about the treatments is that the more we do it, the more it takes out of Jasmine. Jasmine has to stay under observation to ensure that her core doesn't reject the new magic. After a few days, they keep an extra eye on the mass. If it stays the same size we can go home. If it grows they keep her for another two days to ensure it doesn't cause any damage to her. Once she is allowed to come home she is on three types of potions. One for nausea, one for pain, and another that is completely experimental to see if the mass will shrink from. Though, due to the experimental properties of the last potion, we never know what is in it. 

"Mum!" I hear Harry yell to me. I instantly shot up and ran to where I hear him and I instantly see Jasmine laying on the bed. At first, I wanted to ask what was wrong, then I saw it. Her face and hands are covered in hives. Her eyes were watery and red as well, telling me she was having an allergic reaction to something. I think back to what she has eaten, drank, or been near that was new to her. My eyes instantly landed on the potion she started to take today. 

"Oh honey, we don't have to take this anymore. Let's get you into a bath alright." I whisper to her. She looked miserable to me and it pained me to see her like this. I picked up the girl and carried her off to the bathtub and left her to get undressed on her own.

"Harry, baby, can you go get me some oatmeal?" I requested. He nodded and ran off to get the jar. I hate days like this. It reminds me of all the uncertainty of this whole thing. Especially since I am almost always home alone with them. James seemed to be spending more and more time at work, though I have to hope it is due to there being more and more cases he has to solve. I have to hope that he meant it when he told me that he didn't mean it. 

The next day we went to see Dumbledore again. This time we came with the results and the reaction to the medication. 

"She can't keep taking experimental potions. One of these days it could kill her before that thing does." James told our headmaster. I shook my head and looked at the files I was carrying. 

"In all due time, we will have a cure. For now, you need to keep her well enough to come to Hogwarts." He tells us, a sparkle was evident in his eyes. I wanted to yell at someone. At my husband for making demands we weren't sure would help her. At the headmaster for not telling us what to do. At the dark lord for doing this to my baby.

"Her levels aren't improving." I tell Dumbledore instead. He nodded as though he knew I was going to say that. 

"That is to be expected. If my theory is correct she is straining on the part of her core that the Horcrux is located. If she learns how to control her accidental magic then she may be able to stop the Horcrux from growing." He tells us. I agreed and soon we added to her homeschool lesson plan. Anything to keep her safe at this point. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna be busy tomorrow so I figured I'd post tonight instead. Hope you all are being safe out there!


	24. Charlus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger/content warning:   
There is a fire in this chapter and there also is the normal mentions of violence. 
> 
> Also if it is in italics then it is a flashback

There is something about adrenalin rushing through your veins that makes taking a punch to the throat worth it. With the greying sky coming at us we knew that there were likely not going to be any meetups in the next few days. So we made the best of the summer weather and got straight to business, starting with whatever new kid that decided to come in today. With my position at home I was not allowed to be in the circle, too dangerous they tell me. Instead, I am sparring with one of the older kids that have known me since I joined. 

"Want to take a break?" The boy asked me after he punched me straight in the gut. I nodded and tried to catch my breath. This was not a first for me to get the wind kicked out of me, though normally we don't stop until one of us fell. He helped me stand up until I was breathing normally and then he led me to go sit near one of the trees. It gave us a good view of the new kids fighting it out, though the circle of boys made it much harder to see the new members. 

"Want one?" I heard the boy ask. I looked over and saw he was holding a carton of Marlboro and I winced. I have never actually tried smoking before. It just never looked interesting and no one I grew up around ever smoked. Yet there was something tempting about taking one, so I did. He lit me up and I took a hit. 

"You ever smoke before?" He laughed when I started coughing. I shook my head and I felt my eyes water a little. Was it supposed to feel like that? Still, not wanting to look like a kid I tried again, this time didn't make my throat hurt as badly, so I kept it up. The boy patted my back and started on his. 

As we watched them fight I felt myself think about when I met this guy. It was when I had been a regular member for maybe a month. He had pulled me aside and told me that I was going to break my fingers if I kept punching the way I was. He taught me how to throw a good punch and I ended up teaching him it is better to duck away from me when I was in one of my moods. 

_"Chill kid, what has your feathers ruffled?" He asked me after he pulled me off of a new kid. I remember how scared the kid looked when I looked back at him. The boy that pulled me off pushed me away from the group and I, for some reason, listened. _

_"My sister is dying." I said without even blinking. The boy winced in sympathy, Merlin I hate that look. Even more so back then when I hated the world. He then patted me on the back and had me sit with him. We talked until it was time to leave. I told him how my parents were never around and how I hated them for it. I hated that they would buy me things just to make up for them not being there. When I finally finished spilling my guts he just looked at me and said,_

_"You can hate them, just don't take it out on the little guy." He said._ At the time I thought he meant the new kids. Which is how I ended up taking the place of new kids. Though now more than ever, I still ponder on what he really meant by it.

"Hey, Cheif?" I asked him. He looked at me and I saw no real emotion on his face. It was as though he wasn't really here anymore. I wish I wasn't really here or there. 

"Got any extra? This is gonna be a long week." I said instead. He nodded and handed me the half-full carton. 

"Next time won't be free. You also gotta get yourself a lighter or some matches." He said. I shoved the carton into my bag and stood up, ready to spar the next guy.

Cheif wasn't the only guy that looked out for me in the group. While they claim we are all brothers, some of the older members were giant pricks. They would get you when you weren't looking and if you punched back you would not be getting up until someone pulled them off. Then there was Noah, we called him shorty because of his height. He was fifteen and was only a head taller than me, and I definitely had the Potter "Curse". Despite the slight jabs at his height, he was like the group's mum. He pulled us out when we were unable to punch back and he scared even the oldest members. He was the one that pulled me out of my first fight while Cheif pulled the other guy off me. 

"You ready for this Potter?" He asked me as I tossed the bud onto the ground. I nodded and instantly started blocking his punches. As he threw the punches I find myself going back to a specific day back when I was nine. 

_It was a bad day for Jasmine as she had another appointment then she was going to meet Dumbledore for another examination. They wanted to make sure she could go to Hogwarts. We were supposed to go to Diagon Alley right after they came back. _

_"It will be an hour at most." Dad told me when they stepped out the door. I was left with Harry and Remus. Uncle Sirius hadn't been around that much lately so we couldn't go to his apartment. Uncle Remus told us he was going to take a nap upstairs and to yell for him if he needed us. It probably was either right after or right before a full moon so we knew not to bother him too much. Harry went to do his own thing, at seven he had learned to stay away from me. So I went outside and walked down to the cemetery. I had no intention of going to the fight spot since they were supposed to be back in an hour. Then we were going to go to Zonkos or get ice cream. Like we always did when we had days like this. I wasn't intending on it but I saw dark clouds coming up from the dead grass. It was the summer so none of that area had been watered in weeks. There was no rain so it couldn't. As I walked closer I realized there was an orange light and it was getting warmer. _

"Potter, we need to go." I hear someone say. I instantly snapped out of the memory as I saw the same orange light in front of me. I looked up and saw Cheif staring in shock. It takes a minute to remember that he had matches. The grass was dead and he had matches. 

"We need to get out of here! Cheif let's go!" I yelled before getting pulled away from there. I saw him snap out of whatever daze he was in and run. 

_Fire, there was a fire. So I ran. I ran as fast as I could back to my house. I didn't stop to think about if there was anyone there. I didn't stop and tried to find any adult closer than my house. I just ran, and I didn't stop until I got back to the house. I closed and locked the door behind me, as though this wooden door would lock the flames and keep us safe. Once I was inside I saw Harry sitting on the couch. He was just reading a book, he looked as though he was not aware of the world around him. Not aware of the destruction that was happening in a field just beyond the cemetery. _

_"You smell like smoke." He said, looking at me. I just nod as I looked back at him._

"It looks like smoke." I hear a woman say in an alarmed voice. I looked over at her and take a deep breath.

"It smells like it too." I mumble under my breath before walking towards my home. When I get there I will close the door, and lock it. Maybe it will keep the flames at bay long enough for the rain to put it out. 


	25. Harry July 6th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, italics means flashback :)

Have your friends ever dared you to put mentos into your fizzy drink to see what happens? If not then you might know what happens when you mix baking soda and vinegar. Regardless which you know about, you know that when you do this there is a chemical reaction and an explosion happens. This explosion is safe and you likely left the moment laughing and had to clean up the mess unless you were outside. Sadly, these explosions don't prepare you for the one that happens when you least expect it. You are left sitting there, with that shocked look on your face, and you have no idea what to do or say. 

That morning I was sitting in Jasmine's room, well more like I was sitting in her bed. Our mum was in the chair closest to the bed and no one was acknowledging that we would be in court on Monday. In two days we would start the fight that would lead to the rest of our lives. I wasn't sure who would suffer more at what the judge would decide. While I sat with my sister, she was reading her newest book. Mum had apparently gone out and got her one since I had no idea what More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was about. 

"Mum, can you go out and get the next one when it comes out? It should be out on the first of September." She requested. Mum looked up and nodded, which worried me. If mum was this compliant then that meant-

"Ahh, so how are my favorite patients doing?" The healer asked. I looked up and saw it was Healer Angela. She was one of the normal healers we see. This did not bode well for us. 

"Good." Jasmine chirped, looking away from her book for once. This was a good day for her too. She sassed me for stealing her jumper, not that she could give me permission. She was stuck in here and I was hardly around since they didn't want to risk her getting even sicker. 

"What number are we at right now?" He asked. This did not mean the number of books, though that number was up in the air depending on how well her magic gives back to her body. The machine was humming and the blue light was fading each time it came around. This was the pain scale. 

"Two, maybe three at most." She said, looking back at her book. Angela smiled and looked at her chart. She wrote something down before frowning. 

"Lady Potter, it is looking like we may need your signature on a few forms. Can you please follow me?" She requested. Mum nodded and gave us both a look. One that said we better stay put if we knew what was good for us. When they left the room I looked over at Jasmine and she shrugged.

"You want to go on a secret mission?" She asked me. I instantly nodded and began walking quietly down the hallway.

_I was five and mum had just left Jasmine's room. She said she and dad had something important to talk about so I had to take care of sissy while they were gone. Jasmine wanted to know just as badly as I did what they were talking about, so she sent me out to eavesdrop on them. I tiptoed down the hallway until I could hear them talking. _

"I'm sorry, without the donation her core could give up while on the operating table. Especially if we do what Dumbledore suggested as the treatment plan." Angela said in a hushed tone. While I couldn't see it, I could practically feel my mum's anger. 

"What if we have another doner?" She asked. For a brief moment, I could feel my heart tightening.

"We don't want to risk it. If we go with Dumbledore's plan, then her magic will be the only thing that keeps her alive." 

_"Lily, it's too dangerous. His core could suddenly stop working."Dad whispered in a hushed voice. _

_"There is no other choice. The healers said that his magic is a perfect match for hers. If we don't do this her core will perish and she could get hurt."Mum whispered harshly. _

_"What's so bad with her core dying out. It has happened before in severe situations. Everyone who's core gave out survived." Dad whispered in return. _

_"If her core gives out, the wizarding world won't survive." Mum said. _

"How long does she have if we don't have the procedure?" Mum asked. The silence almost felt haunting as it carried across the hallway. 

"A week, maybe two at most. The Horcrux is too large and I worry that if she uses any magic before we can get the procedure done it will completely drain her then go after her soul." Angela tells my mum and I quickly rush back to the room. 

_I tiptoe back to the room as quickly as I could. Once I was back in the room Jasmine gave me a concerned look. _

"What did they talk about?" Jasmine asked when I climbed back up on the bed.

_I climbed onto her bed and hugged her tightly._

_"What did they say?" She asked me. I looked up at her and I could feel my bottom lip wobble. _

_"You might lose your magic if I don't give you mine." I said, sniffling. I didn't want her to lose her magic but I didn't want to lose mine. It wasn't fair. _

"You're going to die." I whispered before hugging her as if my life depended on it. As though I could keep her alive if I didn't let go of her. 

"Hey, hey. It will be fine. I haven't gone yet. It will be like the last time this happened. I'll be okay." She said quietly. I wanted to believe her, I really did. I tried to calm down though as mum and the healer came back in. 

"What happened?" Jasmine asked mum and the healer. Mum looked at me as though I let the manor burn down to pieces. 

"Mum, don't even start." I tell her, hopping off the bed. She glared at me but I didn't let her say anything. Dad was probably in the lobby by now anyways. 

I ended up sitting at the Weasley's dinner table with Mrs. Weasley. I could hear her children chattering in the front room. I listened to the twins whispering about all the pranks they will pull when they get back to school. I could hear Ginny whining about how she won't have anyone to play with now. It makes me think of how I was when Jasmine went to school. It was horrible for me since I was stuck with Charlus. 

"Am I a bad person for doing this?" I asked Mrs. Weasley, who was sipping her tea. She looked surprised at the question, though I am sure everyone was thinking this right now. Well, not mum. Andie and Sirius would be and dad might be. I know I am wondering this every day now. 

"No." She said, as though she didn't have to think about it. Maybe she didn't think about what would happen if things worked out. 

"What do you think will happen if Jasmine dies?" She then asked me. Maybe she did think about this stuff. I don't want to think about how this will turn out if she does. 

I have to sleepover at their house that night. Sirius couldn't come to pick me up and dad was working late tonight. I ended up sharing a room with Ron in the attic. From the heat of being upstairs to the sound of many snoring people I couldn't find it in me to get any sleep. So I tiptoe down the stairs to the kitchen and sneak out the back door. This led me to a large yard that I could lay down on and look at the stars in the sky. It is easier to see them here and I found myself gazing up at them. 

_"Do you know which star that is?" Dad asked us. Jasmine scrunched up her face as she tried to think. Charlus laughed as he outlined the constellation with his finger. _

_"It's uncle Sirius." I guessed. Dad shook his head and ruffled my hair. _

_"Close but no." He laughed. _

The stars hold memories, though I doubt any of us would be looking at the stars soon. Not dad when he is at work. Not Charlus, wherever he is. Not Jasmine, in her hospital room. Not mum, wherever she is. Maybe we might never do this again. 

"Stars are pretty tonight." I hear a male voice say. I looked up and saw Mr.Weasley standing there in a bathrobe. 

"I didn't think anyone was up." I admit to him. He shrugged and sat down next to me. 

"I was never much of an astrology fan myself, but I do find it soothing." He tells me. I never actually had a conversation with him before this. Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny talk to me whenever I am over. I have said hello to Percy a time or two. Mr. Weasley just never seemed to be home when I was over. 

"My uncle's family was obsessed with stars and constellations. My dad picked it up from him and would look at them with us." I explained. He nodded and stood up before holding his hand out for me to grab onto. He then led me to his shed.

"Might as well have a better look at them. I just need to grab something first." He tells me. At first, I thought he would grab a telescope or even a broom to ride on. Instead, he grabbed car keys and smiled brightly at me. 

"I've been meaning to test her out." He said. I had no idea where we were going, or if I would ever get a chance to really look at the stars again. At this moment though, it didn't matter. No explosion or nasty surprise will take away the moment and memories I have when looking at the night sky. 


	26. James July 7th

I go and pick up Harry in the morning. He needed to be fitted in nicer robes and I needed to get some myself. After that agonizing trip, we went straight to the Leaky Cauldron and got some breakfast. 

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" I asked him. He nodded and looked at his glass of pumpkin juice. Normally we wouldn't let him drink that in the morning, it was a supper treat according to Lily. 

"Dad, does mum hate me?" He asked me. My first instinct is to tell him no and that mum was just trying to fight for what she thought was right. We both knew that this wouldn't be completely true. 

"Mum hates what you are doing. She doesn't hate you." I explain to him. He doesn't even try to look at me after that. If it weren't for the fact I was already going to testify for him, this would have cemented the fact. I could not stand to see my child in pain. 

"I think you are doing the right thing though." I tell him. He looked up and gave me a soft smile. With that, we went on with breakfast. Once we ate I dropped him off with Sirius and headed straight to the hospital to see Jasmine and my wife. The hospital is always empty at this hour in the morning. That made it easier on morning rotations for us since Jasmine tended to get her medication around seven in the morning. That let her sleep off the side effects if she had any sense she was not a morning person at all. 

"Good morning." I say as I walked into my daughter's room. Lily looked up at me and waved.

"Morning. Where is Harry?" She asked me, sipping on her cup of tea. I sighed and sat down in a chair facing the opposite direction. 

"With Sirius, you know he can't stand being up before nine." I laughed. She nodded and looked over at Jasmine. 

"Did she have a hard night?" I asked, noticing that she was clinging to her stuffed dog. Lily shook her head, making me want to sigh in relief. 

"She is on pain potions, she only woke up once. Her core is very weak though. It seems to be dropping by the day." She tells me. This is not so good. I hated to think it but this might be the end of the line for her. We always knew this day was coming, I had just hoped she had another year left in her. That if we kept pushing it she might make it out in the end. 

"Do you ever think about what will happen if she doesn't make it?" I wanted to stop myself the second the words started leaving my mouth. Lily looked at me as though I have betrayed her. Her eyes were blown wide open and I saw the look Harry gave us when he donated that first time when she relapsed. 

"Don't talk like that. She will be fine. Now, we need to talk about what you're going to say if Harry does go through with this." She said, grabbing her wand. This was not the woman I married. She was not the excited individual who I declared I would marry at eleven. She was not the witty girl I crushed on when we were teens. She is not the delicate mother who I proposed to. She is a shell of the woman I fell in love with. When did this happen to her? 

"I am actually going to testify in favor of Harry." I admit to her. I wanted her eyes to burn with stubbornness. I wanted to see any fight left in her. I did not want to see the anger that she has now. 

"What, so you want to let her actually go?" She whispered shouted to me. I shook my head and looked over at my sleeping daughter. 

"That is not what I am saying. We can not force Harry to donate. We can't tell him we are going to get ice cream and then drag him here. We can't hold him down as they force a sleeping draught down his throat. We can't legally do this Lily. If you just listened to yourself you would hear how insane this sounds. Dumbledore doesn't know everything." I stressed to her. She then looked over at Jasmine and then back at me. 

"You know what will happen if we don't go through with this." She tells me. I shook my head and looked back at her. 

"I do. I also know we will be losing a child regardless of what we do. I am not going to choose between my children. I will stand up for my child though." I said before walking out the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have an offical schedule now. On Thursday you will be getting chapters 27. Then on Monday, you will be getting chapters 28 and 29.
> 
> If you want me to post the full schedule let me know. Anyways, this fic is about at that halfway mark and I want to know if you have any theories about what's coming next. If so, let me know down in the coments :) Until next time!


	27. Lily 1988

James and I were spending time on the couch. James was reading the newspaper while I was going through the mail. Jasmine was somewhere upstairs and Charlus was in the backyard. Harry was supposed to be in the back but he was standing right in front of us. 

“If I did extra chores from now until I can pay you back,” He starts, gaining James’ attention, “ Can I have 205 pounds?” He finished. James and I both looked at eachother. I mentally tried to figure out how many gallons that would be before answering him.

“Why would you need that much money?” James asked him. I nodded along, that was a good question. 

“I erm need it.” He tried, fidgeting with his pant sleeve. James looked at me in confusion. Harry huffed and turned to walk out of the room.

“Harry, you need to give us more than that.” I told him. He looked back at us and sighed. 

“I need new cleats, shin guards and a soccer uniform. I used my allowance to pay the signup fee.” He tells us. I looked confused before I recalled this is what Charlus needed to play football. 

“Since when were you interested in sports?” James asked him. His face turned a light shade of pink. I guess he had been trying to hide this from us. I have no idea why he would do that. We went to all of, okay as many as we could, Charlus’ games.

“I have been for the last year. We have a game coming up but I grew out of my old cleats. I also need the uniform for the game.” He mumbled. 

“We will have to talk about it.” I told him and he walked off, shaking his head. We have done this song and dance before with Charlus. We tried with Jasmine when she went through a cheerleading faze. She quit after the first month of practice. 

“Since when was he actually interested in sports?” James asked me. I shrugged, I had no idea. What else does he hide from us?

Before we knew it all of us were getting ready to go to Harry’s first game. We ended up coming up with an agreement for his soccer cost. He got hand me downs for the practice clothes and he did a few extra chores around the house. He also has to keep his grades up. Harry never looked happier. 

“Come on, let’s go!” Charlus whined as he tried to pull us out the door. He looked excited to see this game, which was a first. Jasmine had other plans. 

“I don’t wanna go.” She pleads. I want to give in to her pleas. She had gotten stress rashes for as long as we have known about her issues. Also with her back pain and the fact she has a bad acne breakout she was not having a good day. Though I wasn’t about to let her miss out on this. She wanted to go before she broke out. I handed her a low dose of her pain potion and a mask. I then went and found her jacket and handed it to her.

“It’s been chilly lately.” I shrugged. She smiled and took her potion before putting on the items. We then headed out. The game itself excited James and Charlus. Both of them were on the edge of the bleacher the entire time. Jasmine cheered along with us when Harry saved a goal. 

“Who knew he would be so good at this?” James commented when he saved another goal. I wasn’t sure, but he was good at this. He always could save the day.

Around eleven that night I woke up to the sound of her screaming. I ran into her bedroom and wanted to gasp. I could see my daughter struggling to move and I knew what was wrong instantly.

“Mum, I can’t move. I woke up to get water but I can’t move my legs.” She cried. I instantly picked her up and ran to our bedroom.

“Get up!” I yelled before running downstairs, not caring if James was behind me or not. Once I get there they instantly have us up in the room she is always in. They had a healer on staff scan her instantly and we are told that the mass has moved up and it was impacting her spinal cord. We were told that they could try to either shrink it or get it to not put as much pressure on her spine. There was nothing left to do. On top of that, her core was almost empty, and that is likely what made it move. 

“We are sorry Lady Potter, There is nothing we can do.” I am told. So we gave them the go-ahead to sedate her until we had a plan. That was the best we could do at the time. 

We went to Dumbledore as soon as we were sure Jasmine was asleep. We had to find out what he has been wanting to do because there is no way for us to not try everything now. 

“Please, Sir. They are telling us that they have no other choices. If you have one then we need to act now.” James tells him sternly. Dumbledore looked at us in shock, though he recovered quickly.

“There is a ritual I have been looking into. It is a risky procedure, though if we start now she should be able to recover.” He tells us. At this point, I am willing to try anything. 

“What do we need to do?” I asked him. He tells us that we need to purify her magic, core, and soul. To do this he needed a specific potion that she has to ingest two times a day for a week. There also were some other things they needed to run through her body to ensure that the soul fragment hadn't begun to attack her soul. 

“The most important part is that if the soul fragment is too large we need to slowly kill it.” He informed us. To do this, she needed to ingest something that would kill a Horcrux.

“This will take up to two years at most.” He tells us. We didn’t have two years but we were willing to try. 

Once we got back to the hospital James stayed in the waiting room. After he had been there for over an hour I ended up coming back to see what he was doing. I saw him sitting with a self-inking quill, though it could have been one of the pens I had laying around at home.

“What are you doing?” I asked him, sitting down right next to him. He looked up at me for a second before shaking a bit.

“I have to write this-I won’t be able to when she’s gone.” His voice was shaking more than his body was. It took me a moment to realize what he meant. 

“James, is this a eulogy?” I asked him. He nodded and looked down again, tears pouring down his face.

“We need to take her home.” He says. I shook my head and forced his hands into mine. 

“She is going to survive. She is going to come home when she does.” I promise him. I didn’t even believe my own words, but if I didn’t say them no one would. 

James reached out to anyone he thought would want to be here for us during this hard time. Sirius and Remus came within the hour, promising to stay in the area, or in Remus’ case our home. I reached out to some old school friends, and for some reason, I tried reaching out to my sister. It was a simple letter that explained what was going on. I was also requesting to see her, or for her to come and meet the children. I assumed she burned the letter when she received it despite me mailing it the normal muggle way. 

Jasmine flew right through the initial potions she had to take. Her magic purifying was done to Dumbledore’s expectation within two days, they then started on her soul's purification, which took its toll on her. When they started her core treatment on the sixth day she fell into a coma. I was adamant to stay right there beside her until Remus called me through the floo network on the fourth floor about twenty minutes after. 

When I got home I saw Charlus covered with cuts and bruises, this was not surprising. I also saw a pile of mail on the table, some of which were in muggle envelopes. 

“Care to explain before the letter does?” I asked him. He shook his head and ran upstairs. I looked at the first one and it is addressed to Jasmine. I instantly recognized the font and stamp. It is her Hogwarts acceptance letter. I could feel my heart swelling with pride and breaking in anguish. She would have to read it when she woke up. This is exciting for her. The next letter is from Harry and Charlus’ school. It is likely their grades, which I would have to look at later. I glanced over some of the other ones that were bills and such, knowing I would look at them eventually. Two more stood out to me. One was on a plain sheet of paper. I instantly went up to my son's room and knocked on the door. 

“Charlus, open up.” I tell him. I couldn’t hear a response so I opened the door, instantly seeing my son laying on his bed. I marched over to it and stared at him until he looked at me. 

“Yeah?” He asked me. I glared a little as I held the note out to him. 

“Want to explain why we have received this note from a very angry mother claiming you beat her son up?” I demanded. I glared a little as I held the note out to him. He looked at it and shrugged. I am not sure if I want to let this go or to keep pushing. A part of me wonders when I gave up on him, another part of me is asking why I am still giving up on him. 

“I don’t know, who’s the mother?” He asked. I gawked at him, it is alarming he doesn’t know who would claim he beat them up. 

“Look, she seems to be understanding and will likely let it pass if we tell her about-” I started but he instantly glared at me. 

“We aren’t using Jasmine to get me out of whatever trouble I’m in with another family.” He snarled. I am taken back by his tone. 

“Then I don’t understand where this is coming from.” I say. He looked as though he wanted to laugh. As though I should know where this is coming from.

“Mum, you and dad probably don’t even remember how old I am.” He said. Of course, I know how old he is.

“You’re nine.” I said simply. The heartbroken look on his face tells me I am wrong.

“I’m ten.” He said. I leave him after that and go back downstairs to look at the last letter that was left for me on the table. It is from Petunia. She apparently used the same paper I sent my letter on and wrote on the back. It was in plain black ink and it only said three words. ‘I warned you’

Nine days after my last visit home I am told to go home and take a day to myself. Remus was at the house making food and Harry was outside kicking a ball around. At least that is what it sounded like from what I could hear. 

“How is she doing?” Remus asked me after I took a shower. I gave him a look that I hope summarized the hell I’ve been through in the past week or so. 

“That bad?” He asked. I nodded and poured myself a glass of water. Harry came in a few minutes later and gave me a fearful look.

“Is Jasmine okay?” He asked. I didn’t know what to tell him, but he seemed to understand what the silence meant. He then fished out a letter from his pocket and handed it to me. 

“I got this in the mail. The muggle mail I mean, not by owl post.” He tells me. I opened it and saw it was a letter from his coach, informing him that he had been accepted into a Football camp. It was in England, which wasn’t an issue for them. Still, the timing was awful.

“Harry, I am so proud of you. We can’t do this though.” I tell him. Jasmine might need him and if this happens again we might not have the time to go get him from camp then get him over to the hospital. 

“I know not now, but it’s not now. It’s next summer.” He tells me, pointing to the date that was provided. He saw an end date, he also saw that she might not come out of this alive. That his duty would soon be over. Until she is gone though he is needed to be right here. If she needs another donation or needs to go into surgery he is right here. Remus seemed to see my plight and patted Harry on the shoulder. 

“Cub, now might not be the time.” He tells him, but Harry was done. I can see it and Remus can see it. 

“No, I want to know why I can’t go.” He said. I wanted to give him an excuse, but I couldn’t. Jasmine and Charlus had both gone to sleep away camps much earlier than Harry was requesting. We will send all of them to Hogwarts, in another country. The location wasn’t an issue. 

“Harry, please don’t make me do this.” I pleaded with him. He huffed and stormed off to the back yard. Kicking his football off the back of the house. It went on for hours with no stopping. I couldn’t get that drumming out of my head. 

“Welcome home.” Remus mumbled before walking off. 

Two weeks into the new treatment and her body started to fight against the purification process. Her white blood cells started to attack the purified ones, resulting in low hemoglobin and anemia. They tried to fill her with blood replenishing potions but it wasn’t enough. Eventually, it became easier to get blood donations, James was a match to her as was Sirius. Between the two of them, they were able to keep her going for a little while. Two weeks turned into three and she got an infection. Her body couldn’t take it all and she got a fever. They put her on new potions in hope that they could isolate the infection. 

Angela and Stephen change shifts so often that I sometimes forget which healer was coming into visit with us. Dumbledore stops by from time to time as well. I am more willing to deal with the change of healer than him at this moment. Had he left my baby alone with this prophecy my baby would not be in this position. If he had let them do the planned procedure three years ago she might not be in this position. Still, Angela and Stephen come in and talk with Jasmine like it was every day. They tell us that she will make it as they check her vitals and always bring me fresh tea when they could. I can still tell they are hurting seeing her like this. It makes me wonder if they truly believed she could pull through this. 

On one of Dumbledore's visits, he requested that we talk in the tea room for a change. I agreed, hoping he had another alternative. One that would wake her up. Anything at this point would be better than the alternative. 

“You know, I always hoped I would be around to see her get married.” He tells me as he sipped on his tea. I gave him a confused look, what did this have to do with what he wanted to talk about?

“I am sure you will be sir. You will probably officiate it.” I laughed. His eyes lost the twinkle they always had, and that told me there was nothing we could do. 

“I’m sorry Lily. It’s time to let her go. There is nothing I can do to help save her.” He tells me. For the first time during her stay here did it actually hit me I wouldn’t be taking her home. 

We brought in the kids to say goodbye that afternoon. Charlus came in first and spent twenty minutes there by himself. When he finally came out we could see his cheeks were tear stained. I wanted to reach out to hug him but he ran off before I had the chance. James ran after him and I had to go in with Harry alone. 

“Mum I don’t want to do this. Please don’t make me do this.” He pleads with me as I lead him inside the room. I could feel my heartbreak into more pieces so I stop and crouch down to his eye level. 

“Little bird there is nothing I wish I didn’t have to make you do less. If you don’t say goodbye today, you will regret it for a lifetime.” I tell him. He took a shaky breath and nodded, taking my hand. 

“Can she hear me?” He asked me as I led him to the bed. I didn’t know what to tell him, I didn’t know myself. 

“Of course baby, she is always listening to you.” I tell him instead. He climbed right into her bed like he always did and took her hands in his. 

“Jazz, I promise I won't go to that camp. I’ll stay right here at home.” He tells her. He laid right next to her with his head on her chest, still holding onto her hands.

“Please wake up.” He whispered. I held my breath and stared at her, but there was nothing. 

There are no words in the English language that can even come close to the feeling you have when you lose your child. As I looked at my baby I can’t bring myself to admit she might not be here in the morning. I have known her since I was seventeen. She has been a constant in my adult life. She might not be here tomorrow, and knowing that is the worst feeling I’ve had to deal with. 

James and I were sitting on each side of her bed. A part of me hoped and prayed to every deity we knew to keep her with us. Eventually, James told me that it was enough. 

“It’s up to her to stay here. She is trying so hard Lily.” He tells me, tears in his eyes. I looked down at her and nodded. She is such a good girl. She is trying so hard to stay with us. 

“We should have taken her home. She never wanted to-not here.” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word. That word that has hung over our head since she was two years old. 

“We would have always regretted not trying.” He tells me, and I know he is right. We would have always wondered what if. That doesn’t stop me from knowing she would have preferred to go in her bed. With Harry laying next to her and a good book. She would have wanted one last bedtime story and for all of us to sit in front of the fire before she went to bed that night. This is not how she would have wanted to go.

“She’s waiting for you Lil, she wants your permission to let go.” He said through his tears. James moved a strand of her hair behind her ear. I have never seen him fall apart like this. He then moves so he could lay his head on the bed, still holding onto her hand. I move my other hand so I could run my fingers through his hair. We were not the only people to lose our child due to the war. We didn’t lose the youngest or oldest person. We were losing our first child, and that made it hurt the most.

James fell asleep, clinging to her for dear life. I couldn’t blame him, though I did envy he was not awake right now. He could escape the nightmare we were living. I still was holding her other hand and I could see the life she lived on it. I could see the scar she got on her hand from when she fell out of a tree at eight. Her nails were chipped from her constantly picking at the nail polish. Her calloused fingers from constantly flipping the pages of her many books. 

I looked away from her hand and looked at her, squeezing her hand tightly. I tried to choke back the sobs I knew were coming, but I couldn’t. My baby was laying here, unresponsive to the world. I kissed her hand and held it close to my face. 

“I-I’m not sure if you can hear me. If you can, then I want you to remember the time we sent you to summer camp.” I whispered to her. I could feel the tears falling down my face and my breath hitching. 

“You were so scared and you begged us not to make you go. So dad and I told you. Just sit on the side of the train near the platform. Go as close to the back as you can and we will wave you off.” I can picture that little girl in my head so clearly. Then I looked at her and I couldn’t stop the tears from coming. 

“That’s where you are right now. You are on that train and we are waving you off.” I promise her. My free hand runs itself through her hair and I can’t help but think she is just asleep. That this was like the time she fell asleep real late and we couldn’t get her to wake up for the life of us. It isn’t like that time, she isn’t asleep. 

“You can move on baby, it’s okay. Wherever you go, we will be right here. You can go baby girl.” I tell her. I laid my face on her side and refused to let her hand go, wanting to be right there with her when she left us. Then there was a twitch. Just a small movement of her fingers in mine. I knew she was not ready to give up fighting. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was so hard to write, though I can tell you it was not the hardest chapter to write. Monday you will be getting chapters 28 and 29 and next Thursday you will be getting chapter 30.


	28. Harry

Back when we were younger, mum used to take us on “field trips”. These trips used to consist of trips to parks, zoos, museums, and anything she could think of to keep us occupied. Back then I would always hold onto her skirts or the skirt of her dress so I wouldn’t get lost. That is until one time when I was four. 

I wandered off to go get a closer look at one of the exhibits. I guess mum was preoccupied because when I turned around to head back over to them, they weren’t there. I looked around for what felt like hours and I could not find them at all. In reality, it was maybe twenty minutes at most, still. For a four-year-old, this was a nightmare. Eventually, one of the staff noticed me and helped me find her. She didn’t notice I wasn’t holding onto her. I guess that was when I realized she wasn’t perfect. I couldn’t count on her to come to find me if I were to get lost again. 

Andie and Mrs. Weasley were meeting with me today so I could prepare for tomorrow. Dad came with me to speak with Andie and at first, no one told me why he had to come. It wasn’t until I saw mum walking inside Andie’s office did I figure out what was going on right now.

“Ahh, Lady Potter. Right on time. “ Andie greeted her. I instantly looked behind me and saw her. She was dressed up nicely and had her hair tied into a neat bun. She looks nothing like she does when we are at the hospital. She also looked very out of place in this room. 

“Yes, thank you for meeting me today.” She tells us, sitting in between dad and the wall. Andie sat in her chair and folded her hands together. I wanted to ask what this was about, but I figured they would deal with this one. I was told by dad it was just best to stay quiet at this particular meeting. Especially since it was unofficial. 

“What is this about?” Andie asked her. I could see my mum shift uncomfortably in her seat. I can’t imagine how she is feeling right now. I want to go sit with her and comfort her. She looked tired, and I am terrified that something happened to Jasmine. What if she is actually dying this time? 

“I-I am willing to make a compromise. I was hoping we could talk it out.” She admits. That is not like my mum. She is the one who makes the final decision. She never compromises. 

“You want to make a deal?” Andie sounded excited at that thought. That was promising, and at this point, I think she would do anything to make this easier. 

“Yes.” She said before looking at me, I could tell she had been thinking about this for a while. 

“Harry, sweetie. I would never make you do something you don’t want to.” She said. That’s a lie. She always makes me do things I don’t want to do. She is making me do this. 

“Jasmine doesn’t have a lot of time left. She doesn’t have many chances left either. I know you’ve done a lot for her and you are tired. I am too.” Andie looked irritated and I felt guilty. Mum is good at that. 

“Lady Potter, we don’t need you coercing.” Andie warned. She nodded and sighed. 

“If you do this one last time. If you go in there to donate this last time, you won't have to do it ever again.” She promised me. I looked at Andie, who looked right back at me. Dad sunk in his seat and I wanted to hide. 

“To clarify, you are saying if my client donates half of his core this last time he won’t force him to do it again?” Andie asked. Mum nodded and Andie sighed. 

“Harry?” She asked me. I looked between Andie and my mum, not sure what to say. Then I remember the zoo. I remember looking everywhere for bold red hair and a bright blue pushchair.

“I’m sorry mum.” I tell her. She doesn’t mean it. She promised last time she wouldn’t make me do it again. That it was the last time. 

“I can’t.” I whispered. She looked at me and shook her head. She then stood up and walked out of the room without a word. I could see dad exhale from the corner of my eye. I then looked at Andie, who looked shocked by my response. 

“Harry, is that what you truly want?” She asked me. I had my answer before I could even think about what was asked of me. 

“Yes.”

When I left her office Mrs. Weasley was already waiting for me in the front room. She looked nervous, though not as nervous as dad did. I could also see Sirius standing in the living room, but he headed back to where Andie was before I could ask what was going on. 

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Dad asked Mrs. Weasley. She just nodded and took my hand. I could feel that her hands were shaking. This wasn’t good. 

“We don’t have records, Mr. Potter. We need to see someone who can give us something. “ She tells my dad. I had no idea what they were talking about and it was terrifying. 

“Records of what?” I asked dad. He looked at me and smiled sadly. 

“We just need to make sure you are healthy, buddy.” He tells me. I can’t help but feel a sense of dread. 

“Where are we going?” I asked dad. He smiled and lifted me up and placed me on his shoulders. 

“We are just making sure you are healthy, buddy.” He says cheerfully.

“I said no dad. I don’t want to do this anymore.” I said I could hear my voice cracking. Dad instantly dropped down to my eye level and placed his hands on my shoulders. 

“Hey, listen to me. We aren’t making you do anything right now. There is just something going on with your medical records. The only thing you are giving up today is a drop of blood and twenty minutes for a check-up.” He promises me. I took a deep breath and nodded. That is fine. I could do that. 

“Okay.” I whispered. I hope dad doesn’t fail me this time. I hope that I don’t lose faith in another parent.


	29. Molly

It was James' idea to go to Mary Macdonald to get Harry tested. From what Andromeda and Sirius told us it was safer to see a home medwitch instead of getting him tested at St. Mungos. Since she worked from home she had no ties to Jasmine or Dumbledore. She also didn’t have to report her findings. This helped us in the long run, though we were going to request that she did document it so we could report the findings at the court session. 

“Why do I need a check-up?” Harry asked us as we headed towards the small home at the end of the street. We had to apparate a block away from her home since she had wards around the home. 

“We have no idea where your core is at all. If it is low enough then we may be able to win this without you having to testify.” I told him. He nodded, taking the answer. This was true though if he is low enough she might not be able to have him donate under biological reasons. Unlike blood, we can’t force magic to replenish itself. 

“James, it’s nice to see you.” A woman said once the door opened. The woman standing there looked as though she would be a perfect primary school teacher. She had kind eyes and she wore her hair in a low ponytail. She was also in a babydoll dress which had a nice pattern on it. 

“Hello Mary, it is nice to see you too. This is my son Harry, he is who you’re giving the check up on. As well as the other thing we talked about.” He says. She grins and lets us inside. Instead of talking in the living room like I thought we would, she leads us to a small room. This room had a bed and two chairs in it. There was also a side table that held a tray with a stack of cups amongst other things. 

“Harry, why don’t you sit on the bed?” She suggested to the boy before turning to us. 

“Alrighty, while I know you don’t want me involved too much, I do need some of the basic reasons for this visit.” She says. 

“We worry that his core may be too low. He had a large spike of magic recently at the zoo and I worry he may not be able to attend Hogwarts this September.” James lied. She nodded and looked over at Harry.

“Must have been a big spike kid.” She laughed. Harry nodded and laid back on the bed. 

“We also misplaced our files so if you can give us a copy that would be great.” James explained. Mary didn’t question this and headed out of the room. She came back in a few seconds with a bowl and some parchment. The bowl was filled with a glowing blue liquid, and from it looked like it was made of wood.

“Alright Harry, first things first. I am going to poke your finger with this needle. Then we will squeeze a drop out before I heal it.” She explained to him. He nodded in understanding before holding his hand out. 

“Is this your wand hand?” She asked him. He shrugged and James nodded. 

“Yes, he is right-handed.” He said, partially explaining to Harry what she meant. Harry didn’t even flinch when she poked his index finger. When the blood hit the blue liquid it started to swirl. The liquid turned into a purple color and Mary set a quil into the bowl. 

“Alright, this will give us the history. Now, let's give you that check-up.” She tells Harry. James and I left the room so Harry could have some privacy in there. It also gave me a chance to speak to James again.

“So, you left home.” I say. He nodded and sighed, leaning against the wall.

“It was a long time coming. This just gave me the final push.” He tells me. I wanted to ask what he meant by that but something told me that this wasn’t important right now.

“How’s your other son?” I decided to ask instead. He sighed and kicked his feet. 

“I don’t know. He has been more distant lately. I think he’s getting worse. When this is over I’m getting him help.” He tells me. I doubt he will be able to. The thought is nice though. 

“James, Mrs. Weasley, can we speak in the living room?” Mary asked us, peeking her head out of the door. We both nodded and let her lead us out to the living room. 

“Do you want me to go from least concerning to most or do you want me to start with the good to bad news?” She asked us. James looked conflicted. 

“Let’s start with the good news.” I decide. She nodded and sat us down. 

“The good news is that none of this will be permanent if you follow my guidelines. He also is overall a very healthy young boy.” She said. I could tell this was not what James was hoping for. I also know that this is not something that will go over well in court. 

“Harry is a little short for his age, though this can be chalked up to genetics. He is also on the thin side, but I am sure that he has been under stress. First-year of Hogwarts and all.” She said kindly. James nodded, though we knew where the stress came from. 

“His core is very low. It also isn’t replenishing itself as fast as it should be for a boy his age.” She tells us. That was not good. 

“What do you mean?” James asked her. She pulled out a piece of paper and drew four sets of lines. Two representing his sides, the two in the middle is his core. 

“So a normal eleven-year-olds core is not full. We don’t expect it to be. However, like any young child, it does refill itself quicker. A spike of magic that would have an adult out for a week only has a child out for a couple of days at most.” She starts to explain. 

“However, around the age of eleven, we stop expecting these large spikes. His core is currently half of the lowest we expect it to be at.” She said. I didn’t understand a word she was saying, neither did James from the look on his face. So she drew two more lines. One at about the halfway mark between the smaller lines. The second one was closer to the bottom of the line.

“Harry is here.” She pointed to the small line towards the bottom. 

“If he has another spike, his magic won't refill his core fast enough for him to perform well in his classes. If the spike is large enough, his core will be empty and he may never recover.” She tells us. If he donates his magic again, he might never have magic again. 


	30. Andromeda July 8th

Monday morning came quicker than I would have liked it too. Before I knew it I was dressed in my best robes and was standing outside of Amelia's office. James brought in Harry, who looked like a wreck. Lily Potter showed up after he did. As we stood there waiting for Amelia to show up I could see many people staring at us.

"Did something happen?" Harry whispered to me. I had no idea, though from the way Lily shifted her weight I could tell she knew. 

"Lady Potter, is there something you would like to share?" I asked her. She shook her head and looked at the clock on the wall. Molly then showed up a few minutes later, and Amelia followed behind her. 

"Alright, let's talk in my office." She said, ushering us inside. We all nodded and followed right behind her. 

"Normally we would settle this inside here. However, due to a request by the Chief Warlock. He would like this to be a trial presented in front of the Wizengnot." She explains to us. We all paled at the news. This is not what we wanted. I knew it was a possibility, but from what I knew Dumbledore did not know about the case. 

"We are expected there in exactly twenty minutes. Now, if you think we can resolve this without a hearing we can avoid this." She tells us. We all knew this was pointless, Harry and Lily won't budge on this issue. 

"I thought so." Amelia sighed. She then explained to us how this would work. She will go in there and sit alongside the Minister and Dumbledore. She would then have Harry sitting on one side and Lily would be on the other. I would be in there by his side the entire time, while James would be called in tomorrow. With that, James headed out the door to go see Jasmine. Lily, Harry, Molly, Amelia, and I went to the chamber that we would have our case in. The four of us waited outside while Amelia went in. I assumed it was to brief the council on what the case was on. 

"Andie, I won't have to talk in there will I?" He asked me. If the evidence they found yesterday is used correctly, then he won't. 

"Probably kid. You'll do fine though." I tell him. He nods and stands in front of me as we talked about. Molly decided though that now was the perfect time to talk to me. 

"Andromeda, If Dumbledore is here. I don't think it is going to be a quick case." She warns me. I nodded in agreement. 

"We can strategize later. We need to make this opening as strong as we can." I tell her. Just like that, we are being brought into the large chamber. I could see the faces of many people I haven't seen in years. They were all staring back at us, and I knew this was not at all what we hoped it would be. Minister Fudge instantly introduced the case and let us begin.

"Minister, while I understand this is not in your average practice, there is something I would like to explain before we begin." I tell him. He nodded and I stood forward towards the center. 

"I am Andromeda Tonks, I am Harry's witness. I also am acting as council as he is under the age of seventeen." I start. They all nodded and I continued. 

"We are here today, as you may know, to judge whether or not Harry Potter will be required to donate magic to his sister. Harry has done this from the moment he was born and is requesting to stop. No one here is questioning Lily Potter's love for her children. We are also not questioning her ability to be a mother. We do, today must have doubt on her ability to make choices for her youngest son." I tell them. I sighed and looked over at Harry then I looked over at Lily. 

"In muggle England, there is no Duty of Rescue law. In the Wizarding World, we also do not have that law. If we saw a dark wizard we would not be required to fight them off. We would not be required to catch someone falling out of a building. If someone were drowning and you didn't know how to swim, you would not be penalized for not saving that person." I continued, now knowing exactly how to use this argument to my advantage. 

"Morals are important in our society, but they are not our laws. We are here to remind each other what is right, and what is wrong, may not be obvious in our laws." I finish. The minister then called up Lily to the chair that was in the center. She paled as she took the hot seat, though she didn't complain or request to stand. 

"State your name for the record." She is told, this was by Amelia. 

"Lily Potter." She said, looking at her lap. Dumbledore then took over the questioning. 

"Lady Potter, you are in fact the mother of the minor Harry James Potter?" He asked her. She nodded. 

"Yes, that's right. I am also the mother of Jasmine Alice Potter and Charlus Edward Potter." She responded. Dumbledore nodded and I sighed, I was really hoping he wouldn't take over the questions. 

"Is it true that your eldest child Jasmine was attacked by Voldemort at the age of two years old?" He asked. The entire chamber winced at the name but Lily nodded again. 

"Yes, she has a lightning-shaped scar on her back from where the spell hit her. She survived that night." She said. 

"Objection, Lady Potter is trying to use her daughter's fame for sympathy." I say. Dumbledore decided to change tactics. 

"Please explain what led to your decision of having Harry." He then instructed. She explained how Jasmine had been showing weird symptoms that a normal two-year-old shouldn't have. They tried to start treatment but nothing seemed to be working. Around this time they discovered she had been pregnant with Harry, and they were advised to check the new babies core to see if he could be a match. Molly and I looked at each other before I stood forward.

"May I ask the witness some questions?" I asked. Dumbledore looked furious but Amelia aloud it. 

"Lady Potter, how old was Harry when he first donated?" I asked her. 

"Harry's stem cells were used to repair Jasmine's core an hour after he was born." She said cooly. I shook my head and looked back at Harry.

"How old was he when he donated the next time?" I asked her. 

"Three months old, we wanted to test if his magic would replenish her core." She said. I smirked and looked right at Dumbledore. 

"This procedure wasn't in Jasmine's records. Where was this procedure done?" I asked her. Lily paled a little more. 

"In the Hogwarts Hospital Wing." She mumbled. I could see Amelia's eyebrows furrow and I knew this would actually work. 

"When was the next time he donated?" I asked her. She looked a little more comfortable. 

"Five, it was just after Halloween." She said. I nodded and looked back at Harry.

"Did he consent to donate this time?" I asked her, knowing that everyone was aware he was old enough to verbalize his wants. 

"Yes." She said. 

"Did he know what he was going to do?" I asked her. 

"No." She admitted. I then stood in front of her. 

"It also states in Harry's file that he had to be held down by not only you and James but medwizards as well. Not only that but you had to return three times to get a proper amount." I tell her. I heard a small gasp from someone in the Wizengnot. 

"Now, that does not sound consent to me." I said. She huffed and I was about to read the next one and she stopped me. 

"Look you can go through every single time he donated, I know what happened. They were brutal and he had to be hospitalized for days at a time. This isn't only about him. His sister needed that magic." She tells me. So I looked right up at Dumbledore again.

"Now, why don't you tell me who advised you to do this? Because there are multiple notes in here that show Healers and Medwizards advising that you wait longer for donations or that you keep Harry longer." I asked her. She took a deep breath and looked up at the three heads of this trial. 

"Dumbledore advised us on every treatment option past the first initial treatments." She said. 

"Why?" I asked her. 

"Because he was the one who figured out she was turned into a Horcrux, and that Voldemort attached a piece of his soul onto her magical core." She said. Molly and I both gasped, as did many other wizards in the room. 

"We will be administering a 15-minute recess." Amelia announced and we all flooded out of the room. As we waited outside Lily walked up to Harry and crouched down in front of him. He looked panicked at first but she hugged him, instantly calming him down. 

“Whatever gets said in there. Whatever they ask me, just know that I love you. I love you so much.” She whispered to him. He hugged her back and clung to her. I know this is messy, and I know that I would fight for my daughter until the day I die. I am just unsure as to when and what point she didn’t know it was time to draw the line. 

After the fifteen minutes, it is clear to everyone in the room that Dumbledore had been taken off the case. This didn’t stop the Wizengnot from judging the case. 

“Due to his relation to the case, we had to remove Albus Dumbledore from the council.” Amelia announced to us. We all made noise in understanding and resumed our places. 

“Lady Tonks, please finish your questions so we can move on.” She stated and I continued. We went through the next three cases before I was finally able to come to the one in question. 

“In 1989 how old was Harry?” I asked her. She looked down and frowned. 

“He was nine.” She said. I nodded and looked over at the council stands. 

“To remind the Wizengnot, this would be the fourth year Harry Potter had to donate his magic. This is also his eighth and ninth donation out of the twelve he’s done.” I said before returning to Lily. 

“Lady Potter, did you get your son’s core scanned before this donation?” I asked her. 

“No.” She admitted. 

“Did you ask him if he wanted to donate?” I asked her. She responded no again. 

“Why did Harry have to spend three days in the hospital?” I then asked her. 

“They put the needle in the wrong spot and collected too much the first time. However, due to some mistakes on the hospital's part, they had to redo the procedure. He lost about 75% of his core. They had to make sure his core would continue producing magic and they also had to get him on pain potions as well as a potion to fight off the infection he got from the first incision.” She states. 

“Would you say that you were only thinking of Jasmine when you allowed them to do this to your son?” I then asked and she exploded. 

“Yes, okay. I was thinking more about my sick child than I was my healthy one. Yes, I made a mistake but she needed me more that day. How could anyone make that decision and not regret it? It is impossible to not be biased when you have a sick child.” She yells. I looked at Amelia and stepped away, showing they had the floor.

“Lady Potter, why did you let Harry donate again after this mistake?” Amelia asked. Lily didn’t answer, I think everyone knew the answer to this question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are finally starting the court case. Anyways I'm posting this now because tomorrow is going to be chaotic. If I have enough free time tomorrow I'll post chapter 31. Depending on how next week is planned I might have to post chapters 32 and 33 early as well.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this! I have officially finished writing the rest of the chapters so theoretically I could post a chapter a day if the demand is there :)


	31. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your demand was heard lol, I'll give you a daily update. Obviously there will be days that I won't have the time to do it but I will try to keep it frequent. Now onto the fic!

When I was a kid, well when I was a younger kid, I used to play this game with Jasmine. It would start with one of us asking a ‘what if’ question, then we would build upon that question. 

“What if all houses were made of chocolate?” One of us would ask, the other ould respond with something outrageous. 

“Moony would try to eat the house” The other would say. Then we would come up with a way to fix the problem. This solution would cause more issues then we would try to fix that one. It would end either when we figured out a perfect reason as to how houses could be made of chocolate, or if we decide a new what-if. Jasmine was much better at this than I was. 

During our next recess, Andie pulled me into a conference room. The room was duller than a classroom in my opinion, though it was less scary than the chamber. Andie sat down and motioned for me to take a seat. 

“I’m sorry we had to go in front of all of them.” She tells me. I knew this was not the plan, but I think it’s better this way. If it were just Madame Bones then I wouldn’t be as protected. Dumbledore would have made it impossible for her word to count. That is at least the impression I got from him in there. 

“It’s okay.” I mumbled. She nodded and handed me a small paper cup of water before taking one herself.

“So, any questions?” She asked me. I shrugged, I had no idea how this was really supposed to go. I was just here. Though, there was a part of me that thought they would have an opinion from the start. 

“This is not what I thought it would be.” I admit. She nodded and refilled her water, reminding me that I hadn't touched mine.

“How so?” She asked me. I sighed, I don’t know how to explain it to her. I thought that they would hear what the case was and decide on the spot. That I thought they would take over the second they heard who was coming in. I wasn’t really sure. 

“I thought that there wouldn’t be a decision to make.” I finally said. I couldn’t explain why it was just what it was. 

“They can’t just decide before they hear as many of the details as they can. That way they can make a sound decision.” She explains. I know that she is telling the truth though it still makes me uncomfortable. If they need to hear each side, then I have to speak. I have to answer questions. My mum might have to question me, Andie has to question me. The minister has to talk to me. I could feel panic start to take over before I could stop it. 

“Hey, it will be fine.” She tells me. It doesn’t help at all, and I am not sure if I would be able to speak at all anymore. Soon we have to come right back in and Andie was told she could start asking the next witness questions they brought in. 

“State your name.” Madame Bones said. I could tell that the minister was not too happy about the way this was turning out. The person they brought in is a healer that has worked with us since Jasmine started treatments. 

“I am Roselyn Johnson.” She said, her voice shaking. Healer Johnson, she was the one who was supposed to supervise this donation. 

“Healer Johnson, what is your primary job in the hospital?” Andie asked her. She had another job than healing us? That is weird. 

“My primary job is to look over medical procedures on the fourth floor of the hospital. For the long term patients specifically.” She said. They have someone do that? How was my case a thing?

“How many times have you reviewed Jasmine or Harry’s procedures?” Andie then asked. The healer looked as though she was either trying to remember or trying to apparate out of the chamber. Her eyes were closed and her fingers clenched as she bawled her hand into a fist. A nervous habit that many people seemed to have. 

“I have seen three of Jasmine’s cases since I was appointed this job. Two for Harry.” She finally answered. Andie nodded, it looked as though she had full control of this situation now. 

“Which cases were these?” Madame Bones asked. I looked up at them and saw that the adults sitting behind the Minister and Madame Bones looked troubled by this. 

“Jasmine’s cases were when she went through the purification process for her core and for her magic. The last one was the most recent case.” She starts. I nodded along with them and I could see Andie starting to relax.

“And Harry?” Madame Bones asked. 

“His donation at five and this most recent one.” She admitted. Andie then took the stage again. This time I knew generally what she would ask. She told me what she thought while we were talking after my appointment yesterday. 

“Healer Johnson, if you were overseeing a case and one of your underage patients refused a procedure-” She wasn’t able to finish the question because Healer Johnson was on it. 

“While we don’t work with minors often, on the occasion that we do if one were to refuse we normally would talk to the child. We explain what we will be doing and see if that reassures them to continue.” She said. That was a bad move. I remember when I first met her. She was one of the medwitches that had to hold me down before they took the first dose. This may be protocol, but no one actually does it. This feels more like a suggestion than anything. Andie moved onto her final questions and soon my mum had the floor. When she walked up I could see how she straightened her skirt before she began to question her. 

“Healer Johnson, how long have you known my family?” She asked. Healer Johnson looked both frustrated and nervous by this. I have never seen her look either emotion since I met her, well except for when I was eight. 

“I have known your family since I started interning at St. Mungos. That would be almost ten years ago.” She said. Mum nodded and smiled sadly. 

“At any point, while working on our case, did you think Harry could have irreversible damage?” She asked. Healer Johnson shook her head before answering. 

“Until the most recent one, no.” She said. Mum looked alarmed but moved on. 

“Were any of the procedures particularly dangerous?” She asked. Healer Johnson nodded.

“Yes.” She admitted. This startled my mother, and her hands began to shake. 

“Can you elaborate on both of those?” She asked. Healer Johnson sighed and nodded. 

“The most recent procedure that was recommended to us has a 15% success rate for Jasmine. On the contrary, it has a 30% chance of not harming Harry.” She started. Mum looked nervous at these statistics, but she wasn’t done. 

“The chances of success were low when we first started, but they go down the older they are and the more these procedures continue. If this one succeeds only for Jasmine to relapse, Harry will die the next time.” I wanted to cry at this news. I didn’t know it was getting to this point. I knew that something bad would happen, but I didn’t think I could actually die. They called the next recess and Andie headed out to stretch her legs. I wanted to go to my mum, I wanted to ask her if she knew and plead that she didn’t. There was no way that she could have known. If the risk was presented like that to her, could she have gone through with it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I want to personally thank FanFicReader2016 and Mongognom for sticking with this from the start of this fic. Both of your consistent comments and reactions are keeping me engaged in editing and updating this. I also want to thank everyone else who has been engaged in this fic even if you don't make yourself as well known as these two. You guys all rock!


	32. Lily 1989

Jasmine was never a big fan of sports. Though the moment we got her home she was all over James about Quidditch. She asked him about the rules and how to play it. They used to play backyard games when they were growing up, though outside of flying around the homemade pitch she was never interested in it. Now here she is, begging James to teach her the ins and outs of the game. Instead of getting involved I just keep a close eye on her to ensure that she doesn’t get hurt. 

Another change in her behavior is how often I found her writing letters. Almost every morning she would have a letter and a few hours later she would be sending one out. She never talked about friends, though she was always writing to one. It wasn’t until one day at dinner did she finally spill. 

“Who are you writing to? Your boyfriend?” Charlus teased her. Jasmine turned bright red and Harry looked shocked. 

“Wait really?” He asked. Jasmine instantly shook her head rapidly before piling mashed potatoes onto her plate. 

“No, no. That’s not it at all. He’s a friend. “ She insisted. The pronoun got James' attention instantly. 

“He?” James choked. Jasmine nodded, still looking at her plate. 

“Yeah, his name is Oliver. He is in the year above me.” She said. My eyes widened as I stared at her. Charlus snickered and shoved a piece of chicken into his mouth.

“Ooh, Oliver.” He suddenly said. Harry gagged a little and slapped Charlus’ arm. 

“That’s gross.” He complained, instantly starting a squabble between them. I could only smile at this. She has a crush. She can have a normal life after all. 

Oliver was probably one of the better things to happen to her. Even when she was having her downs, his support in her kept her afloat. If I were a parent of any other child, I would be on them like a hawk. Though he seemed like a nice kid and my kid was almost twelve. There was nothing that would happen, nothing serious anyway. Before she left for Hogwarts she thought boys that weren’t her dad or Harry were gross. Maybe she still has that mentality. 

“Hey mum, can Oliver come over?” Or not. 

I had never been more excited to have someone over at our home. It was a Saturday afternoon and James had taken Charlus and Harry out. I wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing, but it was my job to supervise. Jasmine had informed me that he would be over after lunch and that she really wanted me to stay out of the living room. I agreed though we both knew that I would be hiding in the kitchen while the two of them were ‘hanging out’. 

“Mum, he’s here!” I heard my almost twelve-year-old yell. I chuckled and went into the kitchen so she could have her privacy. I could hear faint chatting after the door opened and even more so when it closed. 

“What exactly are we doing?” I hear Oliver ask. Jasmine said something fastly and then there was a thumping noise.

“I’m okay, though the vase might not be.” Jasmine said loud enough for me to hear. I rolled my eyes and walked out to fix the vase. 

“Thanks for having me over Lady Potter.” The boy says to me. 

“Oh, it’s my pleasure. Anything to make life easier for her.” I said. Jasmine blushed and pushed me back into the kitchen. 

“You stay here.” She said and I rolled my eyes. They would want me when they got hungry. 

It seemed like every time the universe gives us a break something counteracts it within moments. It wasn’t even a week after Jasmine got her first ‘date’ were we back in the hospital. This time it was because she got worse. Her back pain became unbearable and she was having more negative reactions to the potions we gave her. When she had a check-up the healer had her try to levitate a book. The second she did so sparks came through her wand. 

“Why did that happen?” I asked the healer. She looked back at me and her eyes were starting to tear up.

“Her core is almost at the finishing point. We may have to remove the core if this transplant doesn’t work.” She says. I looked back at my daughter and closed my eyes. Anything to keep her safe.

Harry came in on Friday afternoon. James brought him in before he went to work so Harry could hang out with us before he goes under. This time Dumbledore wanted to start with a small dose to see if her core stays purified when we give her the magic. If it worked, we will give her the rest of the donated magic. If not then we have to store it and try again when her body is repurified. Dumbledore would also have Harry’s core purified during this time. 

Sadly, due to Jasmine getting worse by the day we couldn’t have him in the room. Though the two of them figured out how to make paper bird messages. It was neat to watch the little paper birds flying in and out of the room. Before long I had to walk Harry down to the room where he will be donating. When we arrived Harry looked up at me with fear in his eyes.

“Why isn’t Danny here?” He asked. Danny, being Daniel who is the healer that was present for almost all of Harry’s donation procedures. At least he has been since Harry was six, which helped calm the boy's nerves. 

“Healer Daniel is off today.” One of the medwizards said as he walked into the room.

“Now Harry, can you take this? Mum, you can head back if you want. We got this.” I nodded and waved goodbye to Harry. He gave me one more panicked look before I headed back to Jasmine. They were starting her on a new potion and I needed to see how much to give her. Maybe this is the one that shrinks the mass. 

We weren’t told what happened to Harry until he came out of surgery. James was the one who was told first since he got worried. Normally these procedures take an hour at most, and that included waking Harry up. Harry was in there for three hours. When James came back up to tell me what happened, I should have known something had happened. The look on his face was as though he saw his mother standing in the room. It wasn’t good. 

“There was a complication.” He started. Complication? That wasn’t a good word. Complications normally meant Jasmine will be staying for an extra week. I am not sure what would happen if I had two kids stuck in here. 

“They almost missed his core entirely, luckily the healer in charge figured out what happened before something went wrong. Though their second attempt led to contamination and more magic than we needed.” He said, making me wince. They probably didn’t change the needle which meant the magic was unusable. If they took too much on top of that.

“They then got the right amount.” He finished. I winced and looked at Jasmine, who was now asleep. Everything inside me screamed to go hunt down that healer or medwitch/wizard who messed up. Jasmine needed me though. She has a habit of not reacting well to the newest cocktail that they gave her. 

“I’m planning on visiting with him when they wake him up. Though, that might be a while since they are trying to find a fever reducer.” James said. Fever, fever meant infection. That meant something went more wrong than I thought. Before I could respond Jasmine shot right up and reached for her puke bucket. I jumped up and held her hair back while she began vomiting. The beauty of experimental potion taking. We never know which will work. 

Two days passed and we were prepping Jasmine for the transplant. The official decision was that she would be put under during this incase her body rejected the magic. Her core was starting to reject her natural magic which was worrying us. 

“Mum, can you get me some juice?” Jasmine asked me. I nodded and immediately got up to retrieve her drink. Anything to keep my mind off the magic if. Sadly, my little trip landed me right in front of Sirius Black.

“Oh, what a surprise.” I said cheerfully. He didn’t look happy to see me. If anything, he looked furious. 

“Where have you been?” He asked me. I am confused to say the least.

“With Jasmine.” I said, as though it was obvious.

“With Jasmine?” He asked. I nodded and continued to head towards the station where I could request a drink for her.

“She is having her transplant today. Poor thing is terrified since they are looking at her core more.” I said easily. That did not appease him at all. 

“That is tragic, though you seem to forget that you have another child in the hospital. Said child who is trying his best to fight off an infection that is too close to his core.” Sirius says, his voice rising. I stepped back and instantly tried to calm him down. 

“I know he’s hurt. We don’t want to risk catching the fever. Jasmine can’t be around anything that could get her sick.” I tried to calm him down. He chuckled darkly and stepped closer to him. Luckily James was heading down to find me before anything could happen. 

“Padfoot, I didn’t know you were back.” James said. He huffed and looked at both of us. 

“You know what, forget it. You two are awful people. I don’t know either of you anymore.” He said. James looked heartbroken and I wanted to just leave.

“What do you mean?” James asked. 

“Both of you are so stuck on your mission of saving a girl who would have a perfectly normal life without her core. She doesn’t need magic to live. Harry could die from the number of donations he gives.” Sirius said, and I saw red. 

“You have no idea what you're talking about.” I seethed. He laughed and looked away from us and his eyes landed on Harry’s room. 

“He could have died if they took anymore. He could have been paralyzed if they went half a centimeter higher than the mistake was. One of these days you’ll lose one of them. I pity the one who survives in the end.” He said before leaving the hospital. 

After Sirius left we were all on edge. Though Harry and Jasmine had no idea what had happened. Harry barely left the hospital a day after the event to finish healing at home. Jasmine received her transplant the day it happened so she wouldn’t know. When she did come out of her surgery Oliver came in to visit her. 

“Hey Jazz.” He greeted as he came in, a book tucked under his arm. Jasmine instantly shot up and tried to fix her hair, even though it was hopeless. 

“Hi.” She said shyly. I will never get used to how shy she was in front of him. It’s adorable, and a nice change from her usual behavior. Not that she is a bad kid, she’s just usually more like her father. 

“I brought you the book. I still can’t believe that you’ve never read Quidditch Through the Ages.” He said. She laughed and took the book from him. 

“Thanks, I’ll be sure to read it.” She said. To my surprise, she set the book aside so she could talk to him some more. 

“You better. It will help you when you try out for the team. Maybe you can be a chaser.” He suggested. When the topic got onto Quidditch I knew it was my time to leave the room. Those two could talk for hours on end and I was not about to sit through it. Plus, it would be good for her. She needs to experience things like this. Plus they weren’t dating, she just had the biggest crush on him. Eventually, she will change her mind. That is what I wanted to tell myself, but when I returned to the room he was gone. She was in tears. Jasmine refused to talk to anyone after he left. James and I tried everything, but I guess in true Potter fashion she had to be a bit dramatic. We let this go on for a week. By that point, Harry had been begging to visit her. James agreed to it before I had a chance to say anything. 

“Come on Lily, let him go see her. It will be good for them.” James tells me. So I caved in and let it slide. Harry was thrilled to come to visit her and didn’t fight us on wearing a mask when visiting her. 

“Do you have the book?” He asked me as we walked up to the lift. I nodded and handed it to him. 

“She is going to be a little drowsy. She is on a lot of potions.” I remind him. He nodded and looked at the book in his hands. 

“She was so excited about this one.” He said. I nodded, smiling slightly, Hogwarts did nothing to hinder her love of muggle fantasy novels. I had assumed being thrown into all of the real magic in the world would. I have never been happier about being wrong. 

Soon we arrived at her room. She didn’t look at us until Harry came running in and jumped onto her bed. 

“We got the book.” He said excitedly. She looked up at him and smiled. This was the first time she has smiled in a week. I never thought I would miss it this much. 

“Read it to me?” She requested. Harry laid right next to her and began to read the book aloud to her. When he started the story I stepped out of the room. I could hear him reading so I went to get myself some lunch. When I returned I could clearly hear that he was no longer reading. Despite this fact I stayed outside of her room, listening in on Harry and her conversation. I knew it was wrong, but I was so worried that I didn’t have it in me to stop.

“Do you still want to be on the team next year?” Harry asked her. I couldn’t see it, but I am sure Jasmine is rolling her eyes. 

“Nah, I think I’ll do commentary instead.” She said. Harry laughed in response, making Jasmine also dissolve into a fit of laughter.

“You’ll be great. I can hear it now. Oliver Wood blocked the quaffle. Just like how he blocked his chances of getting a girlfriend.” Harry snickered. I could hear Jasmine slap his arm, though she was laughing too. Maybe her first real heartbreak won't be what breaks her. Not when she has us. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the whole Oliver Wood plot of this chapter was to appease those who read the book/watched the movie. Kidding, promise. Anyways the Taylor Ambrose plotline in the book was cute and I wanted to make part of this chapter a little easier to read since the other plot I added to this chapter. I hope it worked and you enjoyed seeing more of Jasmine since she is not really in this fic to often :)


	33. Charlus

Jasmine and I used to be close. Before I really knew what was going on with her, I was attached to her hip. We would always go and play together. Especially when Harry was still a baby. Then he turned into a toddler and the three of us were close. Harry would follow me and Jazz around everywhere and he helped get us out of trouble. Then I turned five and it was all over. I was sent to school, but I hated it. I couldn’t see the board, the other kids were so loud and the teacher didn’t do anything about it. After a day or two in there, I would come home sobbing, begging my parents not to make me go back. Eventually, I started this horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. It made me so uncomfortable, which upset me even more. One day I just snapped and hit another student in the chest after he screeched an answer. It felt good, and it made the feeling in my stomach go away for a second. 

That feeling never really stopped as I grew. Even now, being stuck in the hospital with my sister and dad. It made that uncomfortable feeling in my stomach come. Though the need to punch someone is absent, this could be because the anger has been dealt with.

“Hey.” Jasmine whispered to me. I looked down at her and smiled sadly.

“Hi.” I mumbled. She grabbed my hand and I fought the urge to pull it away. She hasn’t touched me in a long time. 

“You know?” She asked and I nodded, yeah. I knew. That is why I am here after all. Instead, I just pressed my lips against her head and left it there for a second. This may be the last few days I know her. I can’t let her die without knowing that I still loved her. 

“How are you doing?” I asked her. I knew how she was doing. She was dying and there was nothing we could do about it. Even if the case wasn’t happening. 

“I’m at peace.” She said. I knew it was a lie. She might have been used to the idea, but she doesn’t want to die. 

“No, you’re not.” I tell her. I hear dad shift in his chair, looking back I could tell he was asleep. 

“Charlus, I am ready.” She insisted. That pit in my stomach seemed to grow and I shook my head.

“No, you’re not. You don’t want him to do this, even if we know it’s the right thing to do. You may be tired of what is happening, but you don’t want to die.” I say, my voice rising with each point. She grabbed my other hand, forcing me to calm down. Looking at her right now reminds me of the last time. The last time I was in here and she was dying. 

“Why does it take me being on my deathbed for you to come back?” She whispered to me. I honestly don’t know. I refused to answer and she gave me a sad smile. 

“You’ll be okay.” She told me and I didn’t listen. How would any of us be okay if she is gone?

“I don’t want you gone.” I finally choked out. She nodded and closed her eyes. 

“I know, but you have Harry.” She said. In her eyes, it always led back to Harry. It had been this way since he decided to follow us everywhere. I nodded, even if she couldn’t see it. 

“I’ll keep him safe.” I ended up telling her. She didn’t respond, so I squeezed her hand. She didn’t squeeze back, then the monitors went crazy. Dad woke up in a second and pulled me away from her. Healers and medwitches ran inside before I could ask what was happening. Dad took me out of the room and pulled me to a seating area that was close to the room.

“What happened?” He asked me. I didn’t know, how could I? I was only 12 years old. 

“I don’t know. We were just talking and she closed her eyes. I thought she was just tired, but the alarms went off.” I said, tears falling out of my eyes. I don’t know what to do. Dad didn’t seem to know either so he just pulled me into a hug. I don’t remember the last time anyone hugged me like this. So I just stay still in his arms, trying to fight down that unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

“I don’t want her to die dad.” I whispered to him.

“I know son.”


	34. James

Jasmine flatlined. The healers are in her room trying to bring her back, and I am unsure if they can. I didn’t know if I should go to the chamber and tell them she was gone, wait for news here, or take my distraught twelve-year-old back home. I chose the third option, in the end, he shouldn’t have to be here right now. 

“Let’s go kid.” I tell him, grabbing his hand. He nodded and we popped back to the church. 

Once we were there I could smell smoke in the air, though there was no burning or flames visible. Charlus seemed to shrink into himself as we walked down the pathway. 

“What happened while I was away?” I asked him. Charlus froze and turned away from me. I was about to ask him what was wrong then he ran towards the cemetery. I chased after him, not wanting to let him out of my sight. I probably lost one kid today, I don’t need to lose two. 

“Charlus!” I yelled out to him but he didn’t stop. When he finally did there was burnt grass everywhere. The smell of smoke was strong here, as though the fire had happened just yesterday. There was also a group of boys standing around. There was a circle of them with varying ages that were shouting and cheering. Outside of them were some older boys and my son was shoving his way into the center of the circle of boys. 

“Charlus Edward Potter.” I said lowly and all the kids stopped. The boys all stared at me and instantly backed away. 

“Dad?” Charlus asked, seemingly startled. How did he not notice or hear me following him? Was he that far gone from me? 

“What on earth are you doing here?” I asked him. He looked nervously at me before looking at the other boys. 

“This isn’t what it looks like.” He tried, but I knew he was lying. Instead of chewing him out here, I grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the house. He tried to fight me off but I knew how to hold on enough to keep him in my grasp. 

“Get off.” He grumbled as he pulled, but my grip didn’t relax. Before I knew it I had him in the house and the door locked. Before I got the chance to say anything he bolted up the stairs. Luckily I knew where he was going so I could catch up much quicker. 

“Stop.” I demanded, running behind him.

“What, are you going to yell at me now?” He shot right back, not losing his pace. Where on earth did he get all this energy? Normally it takes him ten minutes to come downstairs. 

“I just want to talk.” I lied. He knew this and continued up the stairs. Still, there were only so many stairs, and I think he knows this. Once we actually arrived in his room I saw all the bloodied bandages around the room. There was broken glass that was never cleaned up, torn books scattered across the floor, his desk was covered in used medical supplies. One part of me wanted to be happy that he was at least taking care of his injuries. Then I saw the burn cream and the smell of smoke came back to my memory. 

“What on earth were you thinking?” I demanded. He looked right at me, anger filling his eyes. 

“It is not what it looked like.” He states again. I swear I could see flames in his eyes. This is more than anger. I don’t know what it is and it scares me.

“Then what is it? Merlin, I don’t know you anymore.” I yelled. He jumped back and I instantly regretted my words. I don’t know where they came from. This isn’t me. 

“We are a group of boys with crappy home lives seeking a way to let out our aggression.” He shrugged as though it were that simple. This isn’t a kickboxing class, they were beating each other up. They were in the middle of burned grass and destroyed property. It was dangerous. How on earth did he think that was a good idea?

“You were in a circle of boys who were beating each other to death? Do you not realize how dangerous that is? Your magic could decide you are in actual danger and lash out. You could put one of those boys into the hospital!” I stress, not knowing how he could not get it. Someone could die. 

“It’s always about magic with you and mum. It is magic this, core levels that. There are more important things! When I broke my arm you two didn’t care. When Harry breaks his, it’s to the hospital. When I needed new glasses Jasmine’s core levels were more important. When I got my letter Uncle Remus had to take me to the alley. If Jasmine were in the hospital you wouldn’t have dropped me off. If nothing is happening at all then you are at work and mum is checking on Jasmine’s core levels. The second it is lower than normal this starts all over again.” He is crying as these words come out of his mouth. I wanted to tell him it isn’t true, but it is. 

“Charlus…” I didn’t know what to say, not that he would listen. 

“They actually care. When I broke my arm they took me to the ER. When I am down they pick me back up. They pull me out when I’m to far gone with Jasmine. They actually care about me. I’m not the bloody brother of the girl who lived.” He goes on. 

“We care about you.” I tell him, but there is no point. He probably hasn’t thought we have for a long time. 

“Yeah, maybe before she got sick.” He grumbled. I didn’t give him a response. I didn’t have to. The damage has already been done. I know that I should ground him. That I should talk to the other parents of those kids. To report their group to the muggle police. That wouldn’t stop this though. The kids will become sneakier about it. They will continue, and my son would go back to them. They gave him the family that he needed all these years. When did he become this? When I look at him all I can see is the young boy that would throw out facts whenever he found out something new. The little boy who would read books about dragons and then decide he wanted one. The boy who would play with his siblings for hours on end and complain when Harry had to go down for his nap. 

I have to stop this before he gets into real trouble. He could be sent to Azkaban as an adult or get expelled from school. There are so many things that could happen if we don’t stop this now. If I become his parent, maybe I can fix this. 

“I’m so sorry Charlus.” I whispered into his hair as I hugged him tightly. He didn’t respond right away, but soon he hugged me back. 

“I’m so sorry.” I whispered to him. I messed up and I will never get those years back. Maybe one of my children will come out of this a better person. 


	35. Andromeda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are back in the courtroom for this chapter, so prepare for a lot of medical info I mostly made up

The issue with Jasmine’s situation is that no one actually knew what was wrong with her. Until recently they were treating the symptoms, not the actual issue. Any healer wouldn’t go after a cold and treat the stuffy nose, neglecting the actual problem. However, when you don’t have the whole picture you can only treat the parts you know. Which is why they brought in Poppy Pomfrey instead of any of the healers that treated her in the hospital. At least, that is what I had assumed. 

The beginning of this started the exact same way, they asked her who she is and her involvement. From what James and Sirius have informed me she was the original healer that looked over her treatments until they were unable to do them at home. 

“Why have you been brought in here today?” Amelia asked her, bringing me back to the room. 

“Healer Angela and the other primary healers are currently operating.” She said. That is odd, she has direct involvement. 

“Why is that?” Lily asked, out of turn. Amelia allowed this though and Poppy looked uncomfortable. 

“Jasmine has flatlined and they needed to start the ritual.” She said. The courtroom fell silent and Lily paled. Harry looked as though he was about to cry. I knew there was only one thought going through everyone not involved with their family, ‘what now?’. 

“Excuse me, ritual?” Amelia asked. Poppy nodded, bringing us back to the point at hand. Jasmine’s treatments and how they impact Harry. 

“Dumbledore found a ritual three or so years ago. This ritual requires the purification of the host to remove the evil spirit from the body. This was a theoretical way they could remove the Horcrux from her body without her dying.” That was a simple way of putting it. There were so many factors into this, such as how Jasmine almost died when they started the process to purify her. The answer satisfied the court and I was allowed to question her. 

“Madame, it is lovely to see you again.” I state before starting. Always respect your elders after all. After she greeted me in return I started with the basics.

“How involved were you with the donation process?” I asked her. It was simple enough, and it brought down her validity as a witness.

“I was the pediatrician of all three Potter children prior to Harry’s donation at the age of five. However, I made medical opinions prior to donations up until Harry was seven.” She said. Once again I am feeling a little enraged that no one informed me of these things. 

“Then can you explain why there were no records of Harry’s medical procedures?” I asked. Her eyes widened and she glanced around, almost as though someone could telepathically give her the answer to that question. 

“I’m not sure, I documented everything.” She said. The only people who would have access to these files would be Dumbledore, her employer, Harry’s parents, and his other medwitch/wizards that worked on the case. Also, his healers, though that was a given. 

“Who had access to those files?” Amelia asked, to which Poppy replied those exact people. Great, I am ahead of the game. 

“Which procedures have you overseen for Harry?” I asked her. She tended to remember these things so it should be an easy one. 

“Well, I oversaw the stem cells, the two he had at three months old, the three at five, the two at six-” She listed them all, so she did know. 

“Were any of these procedures at all harmful?” I asked her. She looked around the stands again, I am starting to suspect she was alarmed that certain people weren’t here. That or this was the first case she was a part of.

“There is no record of someone donating their magic.” She said. I could see Lily covering her face with her hands. This was not going well for her. 

“You didn’t answer the question” The minister objected. 

“There is no record of this happening Minister. I am unsure of how dangerous this is.” She said. 

“So you agreed to a procedure done, on an infant, that there was no medical knowledge of how it would work?” I asked her. 

“I had no choice. Dumbledore told me that this was necessary to ensure the Dark Lord does not return.” She said. There it was. That is exactly what I was looking for. 

When we are let out for lunch Molly and I take Harry out to the Leaky Cauldron. He orders very little which worries me, though Molly and I order less than him.

“How are you doing?” Molly asked him. He shrugged as he took a sip of his water. I glanced around, noticing many of the wizards from the stands in here. 

“Never want to go back in there?” I chuckled. He nodded, making Molly smile a little.

“Yeah, it must be huge for you. My first time in that chamber was when I was sixteen.” Molly said. Harry gave her a confused look so she launched into a story. This seemed to take his mind off the case, but not mine. There was so much more going on outside of this simple case. There was no doubt that Harry would win, his wants are so small compared to the other problems. Jasmine is dying, Voldemort could still be alive, Dumbledore is behind it all. That is just what we know. There could be so much that we don’t even know yet. That is worrying for us all. 

“Andie, we need to head back.” Molly nudges me. I nodded and stood. I hope that I was overthinking this all. If I’m not, moving Harry from Europe may be the only thing to keep him safe. 

The rest of the case involved Amelia asking a few clarifying questions then she informed us what time to come in tomorrow. Lily looked like she wanted to speak to Harry, but I didn’t let her. Instead, I took Harry to the safe house after we were let out. He didn’t seem as though he minded, I think after today he would want to be as far away from the case as possible. 

“I know today seemed to go badly, but it didn’t. The fact they are having us come in tomorrow is good.” I tell him. He nodded, though he didn’t look at me fully. I don’t blame him, I can’t. 

“Okay.” He finally said. Once we got to the front door he didn’t move to open the door. 

“Do you ever make promises you don’t want to keep?” He asked me. I didn’t know how to respond to that. 

“Sometimes.” I finally said. He looked at me and gave me a weak smile. 

“Does the pain ever go away?” He then asked me. When I didn’t respond he headed inside. 

“No, it never goes away.” I mumble before heading back to my home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all reality, I have no medical background and I tried to use both the rules of magic in Harry Potter and my background in multiple biology classes to get me through this. So, if something doesn't make sense to you just let me know in the comments and I will try to explain it better there. I do try to explain things through thoughts and dialogue but if that doesn't help I will be glad to explain it! :)


	36. Andromeda July 9th

After the news we got yesterday I am sure that James testifying would help everyone. He could update us on Jasmine’s situation and he also could give us more insight into what Poppy couldn’t tell us. Such as the problems Harry had faced during these procedures. The problem is that Jasmine was still recovering from the ritual, which still blows my mind on how they got that approved. Since she is in there, they liked to have at least one parent in there with her. Lily is required to be at the ministry which leaves her out. This left either James coming in for questioning towards the end of the session or them getting someone to stay in with Jasmine. When I saw Sirius standing in the wing instead of James, I knew what they picked. 

“So, they dragged you in this?” I asked him. He shook his head and laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder. 

“Not quite, I was supposed to speak today anyways. Since James was supposed to be represented by Lily.” He said. I shook my head and looked down at Harry.

“We will find out today if you have to speak.” I inform him. Harry took a shaky breath before nodding. 

“Okay.” He said. Lily rushed down the hall and headed to the door. She didn’t stop to look at us at all as she did this. Harry watched her. He went from biting his lip to frowning, the light in his eyes seemed to darken with sadness. This would not be the first time that I wished that he didn’t have to do this. 

“Lady Tonks and Lady Potter, they are ready for you.” A man called us. I looked at Sirius and Harry before nodding. Lily and I headed in, leaving the two behind. I briefly wonder why they didn’t call Harry in, though I figured it would be explained while we were in here.

“Lady Tonks and Potter, you may be wondering why we called you before we start?” Amelia asked. Both Lily and I nod, there was no question there. 

“We as a whole agree that Harry being here us unnecessary due to his age.” Amelia started, but I interjected quickly.

“All due respect, your honor, my client may be a child but this case is about him. He is the one who sought legal counsel and it is his right to be present during this case.” I said, and at that moment I became Lily Potter’s worst enemy.

“Lady Potter?” Amelia asked. She had nothing to say, which meant they would let Harry in when we start. It was ridiculous to assume we could do this without him, though I am sure that someone questioned them about having him here. 

“Alright, bring him in and we can start.” Amelia said. Once Harry stood next to me we got started. 

“Mr. Black, you are the Godfather of our defendant. Is that correct?” I asked him. Sirius confirmed, staying still as he sat in the chair. I have never seen him sitting this still in our lives. 

“How did you feel about his procedures?” I asked him. 

“I didn’t agree with them when I noticed the substantial impact they had on Harry.” He said. It was odd seeing him this composed. It was almost as though he knew something I didn’t. 

“These being?” I asked. 

“Objection, we have already covered Harry’s medical records.” Lily said. Amelia waved her off.

“While this physical part was bad, I am referring to the emotional impact. He would be left alone for days at a time in the hospital when he was a very young child. There was a time in which he was alone for three days after being admitted.” He said. I nodded and frowned at Lily. While this case was not about her ability to be a parent, in the muggle world her children would be taken from her after this. 

“This case being the one in which his core was almost emptied.” I asked, to which he confirmed. 

“Lord Black, did you ever voice your concerns?” I asked him. 

“Yes, twice to the healer in charge of his case, multiple times to Lord and Lady Potter, and once to Albus Dumbledore.” He said. I nodded and saw Amelia writing something down.

“As we know no one took these serious enough to end this case.” I said. Sirius nodded in agreement. 

“Was Harry ever taken to see a mind healer?” I asked. 

“No.” Sirius said immediately. I seemed to touch on something. 

“Was it ever recommended by anyone?” I asked him, to which he responded just as quickly.

“Yes, Remus Lupin, Healer Johnson, Healer Angela, and I all requested Lord and Lady Potter to take all three of them to one. Lady Potter declined to every one of us.” He said. Lily glared at him and I quickly finished up my questions so she could go up. James seemed to be running late, which is worrisome. 

“Mr. Black, you stated earlier that you are Harry’s godfather.” She said, making me raise an eyebrow. Why would she start there? He literally said many other things. 

“That would be correct.” He said. She nodded before moving on.

“Then can you explain to the court why you walked away from your Godfatherly duties for a year?” She requested. Sirius glared at her but found a decent response. 

“I was preparing to take you and Lord Potter to court so I could fight for custody over Harry if he ever decided he wanted out.” He said. If it weren’t for the fact the room was dark I think everyone in the room would have been able to see how red in the face Lily was. 

“Did you advise my son to take us to court?” She demanded. Sirius shook his head.

“No, I wasn’t aware of this until he asked me to pick him up from the hospital last week.” He said. Lily did not like that answer. 

“Then please tell me why you assumed he would be ‘done with’ this?” She asked him. I am not sure she was prepared to question him at all, and if she was then she did not expect his responses and was making this up on the spot.

“So you wanted him to be responsible for the death of his sister?” She asked him, confirming the fact that she did not prepare for this at all.

“No, I wanted you and James to stop treating him like a lab rat or a toad in a potions class.” Sirius said, losing his composure. Though Lily was too far gone to stop her. I assumed everyone else knew this too due to the lack of stopping either of them.

“His only responsibility was to keep her alive. He failed that the second he decided his life was worth more than his sisters. He is the reason Jasmine is dying.” She said before she could stop herself. 

“Oh, so it’s a ten-year-old’s job to keep your kid alive?” Sirius demanded. I could tell Lily forgot where she is right now. Harry’s eyes filled with tears as they argued. Maybe Amelia was right in suggesting he shouldn’t be here.

“He wouldn’t be here if she didn’t need him. If it were up to me Harry would be the one in that hospital bed dying.” Her voice was nasty and that was it. The whole courtroom fell silent, except for the sound of footsteps outside of the dungeon. The doors creaked open and running footsteps filled the corridors. 

“She woke up! She’s alive!” James’ voice carried through the room, but it wasn’t enough for our attention to leave what Lily had just said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So if you didn't hate Lily beforehand... Anyways, I hope you all don't hate me for breaking Harry's heart here and know that James Potter might surprise you, or he will do exactly what you want him to.


	37. Lily Present Day

I'm not sure where the words came from. They weren't true, I don't blame him for what is happening. I am angry that he doesn't want to help her anymore, but I always knew that there would come a time that this would happen. Still, standing in these chambers and being confronted with my own mistakes. I couldn't ignore this anymore. I can't pretend that there is a chance that I would get my healthy child back. Then I look at my son, and I could see in his tear-filled eyes that I wouldn't have my youngest son either. 

"Mum?" He asked, his voice shaking. I tried to tell him that I didn't mean it, but Andie was quick to get him out of the chamber. Amelia and the minister both declared a recess, trying to defuse the situation. There was no way I would be winning this case. If James heard what I said, I wouldn't be keeping my marriage either. 

"I didn't mean it." I tell James as we walked out of the chamber. I scanned the many heads for my son, but he is nowhere to be seen. 

"I don't think whether you meant it or not matters Lily." He tells me. His voice is cold and unsettling. I have never seen him this angry. Not even when Sirius almost killed Sev in school. 

"He has to know I don't blame him." I try to reason, though I am not sure if I'm trying to convince him or myself. 

"I'm not sure if I know that!" He snapped. I stared at him, my mouth falls open. He has to know that I would never wish that on any of my children. 

"James." I say though I'm not sure how to finish my thought. Not that he wanted to hear it. 

"What? Am I wrong? You know for a fact that you hate him for what is happening. If he didn't decide to not donate we wouldn't be here. You don't know how to listen to anyone when it comes to Jasmine." He began to vent. I tuned him out, it was the only thing I knew how to do. He doesn't know what he is talking about. I listen to Dumbledore about his opinions on her treatments. I listen to the Healers and the other medical staff. If it's for Jasmine, I am willing to get any sort of opinions or options. 

"You're not even listening to me now. Great, just great Lily." James said. I looked at him and shook my head. Now was not the time to talk about this. 

"You know what, I'm done with you." He said. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked, sighing. He is always on about something. 

"I'm done. I want a divorce." He said. Those words, I know what they mean but I can't fathom why he would say it. What happened to us? When did he decide he no longer wanted to be here?

"James, you can't." I said. I could hear my voice breaking but he didn't seem to care. What did I do to cause my world to fall apart? I was always trying to be a good wife, a good mother. It was never enough. First I lose two of my children, now I am losing him too. 

"They are ready for you." Someone called to us, and we headed back into the chamber without a word. Once we were in position I could feel all of their eyes on me. Sirius, who was sitting in the chair, glared at me. Harry was sitting on a bench with Mrs. Weasley, I could vaguely hear him sniffling from where I stood.

"Lord Black you may leave. Lord Potter, please come to the chair." Amelia said. Sirius and James switched places and I felt my heart drop. I forgot he was a witness to this case, and after what I had said I knew he would not be siding with me.

"State your name for the records." The minister called. James Charlus Potter, I thought to myself. I met him my first year and he declared to everyone that he would marry me someday. 

"Lady Tonks, do you have anything to ask the witness?" Amelia asked. Andromeda nodded and took her place. I couldn't pay any attention to what she was asking him. It was all the same at this point. They give their general knowledge of what happened to Harry, but this isn't just about Harry. If it was then no, I would never have him do this. 

"Lord Potter, do you know why your son wants to have control over his body?" Andie asked. I stood straight and looked at my husband, ex-husband? He looked over at Harry and shook his head.

"I do not know the exact reason we are here. I don't need to know. I think he did the right thing. I don't think he should need to donate his magic anymore." He says. That was it, Harry has a parent standing by his side on this. There was no way I could win this without Dumbledore on my side. The questions continued for another few minutes before I was asked to present my questions to James. I had prepared for this moment since it was confirmed we would be coming in. They were supposed to represent how our family is and how we would never force Harry to do anything he didn't want to do. That idea wouldn't pass here, not anymore.

"James." I greeted, he barley looks me in the eye. I don't know what to ask him anymore. It wouldn't matter to them, or this case. 

"Do you recall the day we found out about Jasmine?" I asked him without thinking. The memory is clear as day to me. I was seventeen and I just found out that my parents had passed away. James was out studying for NEWTs with Remus and Sirius. Peter was out somewhere, we didn't really know. I had been feeling sick but I didn't think much of it, after all, I was stressed out. 

"-you were distraught. You told me that you have lost so many people already, you couldn't lose her too." He finished answering. He didn't know what I was talking about, and how could he? I could try to revoke that memory, but it has nothing to do about the case. There was no reason to try. why should I?

"Did you feel the same?" I asked him. He did, I remember that. Why wouldn't he?

"Yes, but those feelings did not include the chance of losing our son." He said, his voice was low. At the time it was only Charlus, Harry wasn't an idea at the time. So he couldn't think about Harry then.

"Then why-" I started but he held his hand up, silencing me momentarily. 

"What's the point of this? Are you doing this for Jasmine or yourself? I know I was fully for this at one point. That is my fault. I didn't ask questions, I didn't push for alternative treatments. You did though. You asked questions, but never for both of them. Lily, did you even ask Harry for the last donation or did you assume he would?" He asked me. I couldn't remember, it was such a blur, and all of the treatments blended together at this point. It didn't matter to me though, anything to keep her here. Dumbledore said that it was fine though.

"No more questions your honor." I eventually say. We are dismissed after that and are told that Molly would be questioned alongside Dumbledore. I couldn't find it in me to care enough, I just wanted to see my daughter. I could check her levels then make a treatment plan. Maybe there was another way we could without a donation. If not it would be nice to know what is next. 

Once I get there I am immediately given the rundown. The healer showed me the numbers as she explained what was going on. They all looked normal to me. Then I got to the bottom.

“Does that mean the surgery on her core didn’t take?” I asked. The healer shook her head. 

“It did, and her magic responded well to it. As you can see she is producing her own magic. However, her core is more damaged than we first assumed. We were able to patch some of the damage, but there are more spots.” She said, waving her wand to show me what she was talking about. There they were, white spots all over her core. Like small holes or spread tumors. This is not good. There are so many things that can go wrong with this. 

“We have two options now. The first being operating again to patch the spots. This is less risky but she will need to come in once a year to ensure they don’t return. The other option is someone donating their core. This would need to be an exact match, and much more risky. It would ensure this never happens again though.” I am told. My first thought was to agree on the second one. We have an exact match. Then I remembered the look on his face. The fact that this way of thinking is what put me into this situation. 

"How long do we have to make the decision?"I asked her. She glanced at the charts and shook her head. It was a simple question, though with the magical core I guess it isn't easy to determine. 

"Who knows? Maybe a week at most. There is a lot we are risking if we don't make a decision soon. Her magic could seep through any of the holes. As you know, her magic is brand new. It doesn't know her body and vise versa. Her cells could attack it and it would not take well to that." She said. I frowned and looked back at her. If her magic decides to attack her cells, who knows if she will make it out. 

“I’ll have to talk to my family about it.” I said. She nodded and headed out, leaving me alone with my thoughts. There was no real option, I knew which one I had to choose. After today, it should be obvious. Still, looking at my sleeping child, I have to consider both options. The pros and cons of both. Theoretically, she could live like this. She could limit her magic use. Her core could mend itself. That was unlikely. If we mend it, the holes could return. Then she will need another repair. Then another. She could live like that, it’s what we are doing now. The last option, well it could kill Harry. If it didn’t then he would never be able to do magic again. He would have to go into the muggle world. If the donation doesn’t take for Jasmine then she wouldn’t have another option. The option should be clear after ten years of doing this. Maybe it is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to respond to every one of you on the prior chapter so badly, but I don't want to spoil anything that's going to happen. So know I am reading each comment and appreciate you all!
> 
> Also: If you couldn't tell, James has officially gotten his shit together. Other than Lily snapping James filing for a divorce has been in the plans from the start of me writing this fic. Though it wasn't until later drafts did it happen this soon. I hope that this wasn't too much of a surprise. Though I was hinting at this since chapter 4 if any of you caught it.


	38. Molly July 10th

After what happened in the previous court session, I am surprised they would still want to talk to the last witnesses. Lily Potter showed she was not thinking about Harry at all throughout the procedures. Also, they have a copy of his medical records, that would impact what he is able to do. Still, the justice system in our world is not perfect. They still want us all there in an hour, and I can’t seem to be making it out my door. 

“Mum, tell Ginny that she can’t have Charlie’s old wand,” I hear Ron whine from the sitting room. I could hear Arthur heading down the stairs, telling me that it was my chance to escape. I quickly grabbed my bag and rushed to the door. 

“I’ll be home this afternoon.” I informed them, hearing an okay from most of my children. Then I was off, clutching my bag that had a packed lunch in it. These sessions could take forever, especially if Albus decided to drag it on. I do wish that this had gone like a normal case. There would have been less of a hassle if it had.

The trip to the ministry was calmer than I expected. With all the news I have seen in the Daily Prophet, I was sure there would be some press in front. Another odd occurrence was how empty the ministry was on the inside. As I made my way through I found there were fewer and fewer people the closer I got to the chamber. 

“Molly, thank Merlin. We need to talk.” Andromeda says quickly as she greeted me near the chamber entrance. Well, at least someone was here. Though the urgency in her voice was unnerving. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked her as she led me away from the chamber door. At least I arrived early, there was always something going on. 

“One we need to talk about what you’ll be saying in there. The second is that Harry wants to speak today.” She tells me, her voice quiet. That was unexpected. Harry seemed adamant that he did not want to talk about this. Granted he also seemed confused up until we started this. Even then I was sure he was going to back out any time now. That boy was conflicting at best. 

“I was going to speak in favor of Harry, after what we saw yesterday I don’t question his reasonings.” I assured her. I could see her shoulders relaxing slightly.

“Thank Merlin.” She mumbled. I have to admit that this was not going to be an easy situation. 

“What is Harry going to tell them?” I then asked. Andromeda shrugged and leaned against the wall. That is worrying, to say the least. 

“He just told me that he needed to talk. That there were pieces of this case that no one else knows about.” She tells me. That small piece of information is enough to make me nervous. If he wasn’t telling anyone about something, well it could make or break this case.

“Have you talked to him about how that could impact the case?” I asked her. She nodded and sighed. 

“He said that he wasn’t going to bring it up unless it was needed.” She said. I am assuming what his mum said made up his mind on this. 

"If it is that important I think he should at least tell you what the plan is." I say. She nodded and closed her eyes. 

"This case just needs to be over. I never planned on entering the political system after graduation." She said. I couldn't help but agree. This is not how I planned my son's last pre-Hogwarts summer. Before I could give a proper response the sound of the bell went off, telling the two of us that the chamber would be opened soon. 

"We should go find Harry." I said. She nodded in agreement and led me back to the chamber entrance. Once we got there we saw Harry standing outside it with James and Lord Black. 

"There you two are." James said. Harry looked relieved and waved quietly,

"We were just running through her statement." Andromeda said, making Lord Black chuckle. 

"I'm sure that Molly Weasley will do fine. She could probably make the minister eat his veggies." Lord Black said. Harry snickered and smiled lightly at him. 

"While I am sure that would be helpful, Harry we do need to discuss what you're saying in here today." Andromeda said, making Harry shrink into himself. 

"I can't tell you, not yet." He said. This was not a good thing. Not at all. 

"They are ready for you Lord Black." A man said. Sirius nodded and headed into the chamber. That was odd. James shrugged, telling us that he had no idea what was going on. 

"This day keeps getting weirder and weirder." I mumbled. Andromeda and James both made a noise in agreement. Before I knew it we were being summoned into the chamber as well. I looked at Harry as we walked inside. He looked more nervous today than he had in the past few days. 

“You’ll be fine dear.” I whispered to him. He looked up at me and shook his head. He really needs to keep it together today. If he is going to persuade anyone here today, he needs to prove he can make these decisions. 

“As you all know we are here today to-” Amelia began to remind everyone where we left off. I tried to listen to the details, though there was so much that happened to pay attention. The more this case goes on the less it sounds like the initial issue. That is what I need to do, get us back on track. 

“Mrs. Weasley, can you please take the stand.” Amelia requested. I nodded and took a deep breath. I hope this helps, at this point Harry needs as much support on his side as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone here is wondering why the case is still happening I'll explain here. While Lily has proven to the sane adults in the room that she is an unfit mother, that is not what the case is about. Harry just wants them to have to ask him if he is okay with donating and for his words to matter. On top of that, the wizarding world has proven that they aren't the most developed society. Due to them being a higher up family politically and due to the fact the child receiving these donations is their "savior" it makes things harder. 
> 
> I hope that explains why this case is still happening.


	39. Andromeda

As this case goes on it becomes harder. Harder to see Lily as a good parent. Harder not to curse something. Harder to keep myself composed as we hear the details of this case. I am not sure we will ever get to the bottom of Jasmine’s case. It isn’t a simple something bad happened and Jasmine got injured. No, this injury causes her a great deal of pain, from what Harry has told me. That pain causes her to have other reactions that make her sick. This was hard enough with that part. Add the part where she is the ‘hero of the wizarding world’ and Dumbledore being involved the entire time. Yeah, this is not going to be easy. To make matters worse, Dumbledore is the witness being called in today. 

“Mrs. Weasley, can you please tell the court why we asked you here?” Amelia asks her. Molly shifts in her chair slightly and I instantly began to worry. While Molly said she would be on Harry’s side, she is also the one who was saying Harry had no idea what he wanted. This might be for what she thought was good for Harry, not what he wants. 

“I was asked to come in and act as Harry Potter’s guardian ad litem.” She said. She then explained what that was since the court likely didn’t know what it was. I still am baffled on how little we have this court system developed. 

“From what you have seen, what would you recommend for this case?” Amelia then asked. Molly glanced back at us and smiled sadly. I felt my heart sink a little, this will not be good.

“I have spent some time with each member of this family and believe I have part of the picture. From what I have been able to see, Harry is a little boy thrown into a situation he is too young for.” She began. That is not a good start. It may be true but this is not going to help our case. I could almost hear Lily Potter singing with glee.

“With that, I also believe he is starting to grasp just how serious the situation is. I also believe that his parents both know this.” She continued, looking back at Amelia and the rest. Okay, maybe this will actually work out well for us.

“James Potter, his father, agrees with Harry that it is time for him to stop. His medical records say that he needs to stop out of necessity. His mother, on the other hand, is the one who wants him to continue.” She said, closing her eyes for a brief second. Good, bring up the facts that he can't donate for medical reasons. That fact should make it so they couldn't force this. 

“I think that this family has spent so long trying to keep Jasmine alive that they don’t know how to do anything else. I understand that they want to keep her alive and safe. When you love someone, you want to keep them with you. However, there is a time you need to let them go.” She said. I glanced over to see Lily, who was a little red in the face. I am unsure if it were due to anger or not. With the way Harry began to cling to my hand, I would say the former. 

“At the start of this case I believed that Harry was too young to make this decision. He is the same age as my youngest son and Merlin knows he can’t make up his mind on anything.” She said. I knew what she meant by that, my daughter is an adult and she still can’t make up her mind about anything. Reminding everyone that he is just a child might be our downfall. He is only ten years old. He hasn’t even been to his first day of Hogwarts yet. There is no way he can make a decision for himself about his magic. He can’t control it yet, why should he make important decisions?

“Yet, this is one thing he has kept his mind on for the entire time I’ve been involved in this case. Due to this, and the other reasons I have stated I truly believe that Harry Potter should not be required to donate his magic.” She said, finishing her statement. Okay, she is backing us up. This could be enough to sway them if Harry's statement is also as strong.

“Thank you Mrs. Weasley. We will be taking a fifteen-minute recess to wait for the next witness to arrive.” Amelia said, dismissing the court. Molly took a breath of relief and I finally began to relax. Thankfully she did well and stayed on our side. If she spoke against us it would not work out for Harry.

“Harry, we really need to speak about your statement.” Molly said as she made her way over to us. Harry sighed and shook his head. I wanted to groan but I kept my composure. This is not the time to be stubborn. 

"Harry, we need to know what you plan on saying. The next recess we will cover what I will ask you. However, If I am going in there blind then I won't know how to lead to what you want them to know." I tell him. Harry looked troubled by this fact, though he didn't say anything. 

"I-I just want to tell them. I want to tell them why I can't do this anymore." He mumbled. From the way he wasn't speaking confidently to the fact he was refusing to look at us did not give me confidence in his response. Though, it was enough for me to make a game plan. 

"I hope you know what you want to tell them." I sighed. He nodded and looked around. When he spotted Sirius he ran over to him. 

"You did well in there." I tell Molly as I watched Harry talk to Sirius. 

"Thank you. I was worried my statement would sound as though I was siding with Lady Potter." She admits to me. I was worried about that as well, though I was not about to tell her that.

"Do you think he is going to win this case?" She then asked me. At this point, it should be obvious, though you never know.

"If they vote due to evidence then he will." We both knew exactly what I was leaving out here. If they vote from a political point of view we were in trouble.


	40. Molly

There was a lot hanging on how they questioned Albus Dumbledore. Since he had more titles than the rest of us, he could easily require that they proceed with normal tactics. The fact they are letting us do the questioning the way we are is abnormal. This may be our downfall as well. 

Once we are called back into the room they had Harry stay outside with Sirius. They also had Andromeda, Lily, and myself to sit on the sidelines. It already felt as though we were going to lose control of the case prior to this, now it seemed like they were prepared to continue on how they normally would. Then they had him come in and you could tell he was not taking this seriously.

“State your name for the record.” He is told and he easily said his entire name, then occupations and titles behind it. They then had him sit in the chair that was sat dead in the center of the court. 

“Mr. Dumbledore, how long have you known the defendant and his family?” He is asked. Albus gave them a fond grin before turning back to look at us. 

“Well, I knew of James Potter since his birth. Lily Evans and I met when she started school at eleven. I’ve known all of their children since their birth. So the defendant for almost eleven years and the family longer than that.” He said. Why does he have to overcomplicate this all? It is already hard enough to get through this without all of the dramatics.

“Mr. Dumbledore, how involved are you with this case?” He is then asked. I doubt that he will be honest about it. He could pull off being their old mentor and giving them advice. That he never thought they would actually go through with it. I would have believed it prior to talking to them all, they all would believe that now. 

“At the start, I was giving them advice. After the fall of the dark lord we were looking for any damage she may have gotten.” He said, his smile faltering. His eyes sparkled as he spoke. How does he find this amusing?

“There was a prophecy that I had shared with them. It involved their daughter, I assume that is why they came to me after she started showing a negative impact.” He continued. Why were they letting him avoid the question, though I assume that this does show why he was involved. 

“Prophecy?” The minister asked. Dumbledore nodded and looked back at us. I could tell he was upset about something. Maybe he wanted all of us to be in the room. 

“My Divination professor had a vision during her interview. During her trance, she said, ‘The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark them as his equal, but they will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies’. Jasmine Potter was born on July 29th, two days before the seventh month died.” He said. I heard a small gasp and looked over that way. When I didn’t see anyone or anything out of the ordinary I looked back at those sitting overhead. I just hoped they all remembered that prophecies didn't have to be fulfilled. In fact, most of them weren't. 

“Mr. Dumbledore, while that may tell us why you were involved, you have yet to explain how involved you had been.” Amelia said. He nodded and took a breath. 

“I was researching potentially overlooked aspects of her condition. When I figured out she had been turned into a Horcrux I began to look at potential cures. Lily and James would give me updates and I merely suggested alternative solutions.” He said. There it is. 

“So you admit to being highly involved in the case?” Amelia asked. Dumbledore looked gobsmacked at this, as though he thought they would assume he wasn’t that involved. 

“Yes, she did in fact defeat Voldemort. There was a reason to keep my eye on her.” He said, his voice sounding bored. I quickly glanced around and saw a few people nodding along as though they agreed.

“I also needed to ensure that she would be prepared for his return.” He added. In that moment I feared that we would not be winning this case. The room grew silent at his words and the minister instantly started declaring that it was impossible. Amelia didn’t stop him, though I am sure she wanted to. If Dumbledore thought he would return, there was a reason for it. With the Horcrux being so involved in this case, there was reason to believe him.

“Order, Order in the court.” Amelia said commanding silence of the room. After a few more questions they moved onto how Jasmine has benefited from the procedures alongside how Harry could as well.

“She is passing all of her classes.” He said in response to one of the questions. From the way Lily looked, this was not true at all. 

“As for Harry?” He is then asked. His eyebrows furrowed and the spark started to leave his eyes. 

“We do not know how his magic would have been without taking from it. His core seems to be abnormally large if his core is too empty from a few procedures.” He responded. That made no sense. If it was large then there would be no problem from donating some of it. If anything he should have said small. Still, the court ate the answer up. It was infuriating, then they allowed Lily to begin her questions. This was not right at all. 

“Professor Dumbledore, when you advised any of Jasmine’s treatments did you take Harry’s well being into account?” She asked. To which he, of course, responded with,

“Why yes, I had young Harry’s well being in mind.” He said cheerfully. The rest of the following questions went exactly the same way. 

“Was Harry in any danger at any point when he donated his magic?” 

“No, when I recommended another donation it was never anything he wouldn’t have lost due to accidental magic.” 

“Was there any concern about how Harry’s core would respond to these donations?” 

“No, magic donations is a safe procedure. It is constantly done in the Middle East magic community. I wouldn’t have suggested it if he were in any danger.” 

It was infuriating to listen to these answers. Either he is lying, because this is the first time we have even heard of magic donations, or he actually believes it. Soon enough Andromeda was allowed to ask him questions. 

“Albus Dumbledore, do you have any medical experience?” She asked as soon as she stepped next to him. 

“I was a Transfiguration and Defense against the Dark Arts-” He began but she immediately shut him down. 

“Do you have any medical experience?” She asked him again. Her eyes had a fire behind them.

“No, I have to admit I do not.” He said. She nodded and walked away from him.

“Did you get a second opinion from someone prior to advising Lily and James Potter on any medical procedure?” She asked him. 

“I did ask Poppy Pomfrey the risks of these procedures.” He said. She rolled her eyes.

“Did you advise they check his core levels prior to any of Harry’s procedures?” She asked. To which he responded with a no. 

“Did you mention this to Poppy Pomprey, your school medic?” She asked, emphasizing the word school. To which he responded with a no.

“Then what made you believe you have any say or knowledge in Jasmine Potter and Harry Potter’s medical procedures?” She asked. He had no answer and I hope that everyone remembered this part of the trial. 

“Madame Bones, I think I am done.” Andromeda said before heading back to the bench. Amelia nodded and looked back at Dumbledore.

“Mr. Dumbledore, you had no rights in assisting with medical procedures. However, due to the fact you were not claiming to have medical knowledge, you will not be fined.” Amelia said. I could hear the sigh in her voice as she spoke. 

“I will be calling for a fifteen-minute recess. Lady Tonks, please bring Harry in here when we come back.” She said. Andromeda nodded and stood with the rest of us. Harry better have something. The idea of Voldemorts return might be what sways the voters. 

“What happened?” Harry asked as we headed out of the chamber. Andromeda winced a little and Sirius sighed. 

“That bad?” He asked. I nodded and looked back at Harry.

“If it weren’t for the fact that you were already going to speak I would say it’s necessary.” I admitted. Sirius winced and Harry gave us a fearful look. 

“Harry, are you ready to be questioned?” Andromeda asked. He bit his lip before nodding. I am not sure that he is. From the way, he is holding onto the sleeves of his robes makes me think he is anxious. 

“What will I be asked?” He asked. Andromeda went over what she would be asking him, which seemed relatively standard. He would be asked why he went to her, if he understood what it meant to have rights to his body, and if he was doing this out of malice. The rest of the questions would be based on his answers. I wanted to think Andromeda had already covered this with him, though it is possible he didn’t know he had to. Which we didn’t think he would need to. After all, he spoke with Amelia before all of this. 

“Harry, are you alright?” I heard Andromeda ask, bringing my attention back to the boy. His breathing was labored and his eyes were filled with tears. 

“Harry?” Sirius asked, kneeling down to the boy. Harry stopped biting his lip and brought his hands up to his throat. He didn’t push down on it, but he looked worried. His breathing became heavy and panicked. His face continued to pale and tears began to fall down his face.

“Harry, you need to breath.” I tell him. Andromeda grabbed his hand and led him away from us. I wanted to take a breath of relief, though I wasn’t relieved. 

"You know how they called me in earlier?" Sirius asked me. I looked over and nodded, yeah that was one of the weird things this morning. Though it was not the weirdest part of today, to say the least. 

"Amelia was asking me if I still wanted to go through with the custody battle. I couldn't believe that she even had to ask. I mean, yes James is doing better now. Still, he isn't in the right place to have any of his kids on his own. Lily shouldn't be near any of them ever. Even if Jasmine doesn't make it through this Harry will have to deal with the guilt. Charlus, well Charlus needs more help than the other two if you can believe that." He said. I had no idea what to say to that. I never would have thought about someone taking James and Lily Potters children away, now that I think about it that might be the best bet. 

"Is that what Harry wants?" I then asked and he shook his head.

“It doesn't matter at this point. He is a kid, he shouldn't have to make these decisions. The only reason he is making these choices is due to his parents not knowing how to be parents." He said. 

"So you would?" I asked. I could tell my voice was a little harsh though it doesn't matter right now. He could be messing up this case if he goes through with his plan.

"No, but I would do a better job than they did. Anyone would." I couldn't argue that point at all. They were kids when they became parents, they haven't grown up since they did.

" I don’t think Harry is going to stay calm on the stand.” Sirius suddenly says, bringing us back to the main issue at hand.

“He will speak though.” I said. He nodded and looked down at his feet.

“I almost hate that I likely put the idea of doing this in his head.” He said. 

“He would have gotten to this point eventually. I doubt that Harry would have put up with this after he went to Hogwarts.” I offered, though I knew that it would have gotten worse there. I saw his results at his check-up. He wouldn’t make it at school if they went through with this procedure. 

“I don’t think he will be going to Hogwarts. Even if he wins this.” Sirius said. I looked at him in shock. 

“What do you mean?” I asked. He frowned as he looked back at me. 

“Harry may be stubborn, he may even have the willpower to stay at the school. He won’t have enough core strength to keep up. James knows this, I know this. Now the most powerful wizards know this. They might not let him go because it’s too dangerous.” Sirius said. I wanted to deny this. We all saw his records, he was low but he still had two months to get his magic back. 

“If his core is too weak to donate to the savior of the wizarding world, it is too weak for him to use the magic he does have.” He said. I hated this. Even if Harry wins, he loses. If he does lose, well he might not be alive to go to school. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a little late. I added washing a tattoo to my morning and it pushed my routine back a bit. (Totally not my way of bragging about my new tattoo)
> 
> Anyways, I hope this is what you were looking forward to. The Dumbledore plotline is ending here unless I decide to write a sequel to this fic. (Or if I forgot about bringing it back up later in this fic because that seems to happen a lot when I go to upload the next chapter)


	41. Andromeda

It took me maybe ten minutes to calm Harry down enough for him to listen to me. There was a lot of hugging and rubbing his back. I knew that there wasn’t enough time to prep him as much as I wanted to. Luckily we did have the discussion about the types of questions right before his episode. 

“Do you remember what I said I’d ask you?” I asked him as I led him back to the chamber door. He looked up at me and nodded timidly. I fought the urge to wipe the tear stains off his face, it didn’t matter much. At this point in the case, they all likely have made their decision. 

“Okay, so when we get in there I need you to walk to the chair and request to speak.” I told him, placing a hand on his shoulder as I led him up the steps. 

“Okay. Do you think she will let me speak?” He asked. I never even thought about that. Amelia would want to hear his side and perspective again, though the minister is another story. 

“Harry, I am sure that they all want to hear what you say. Just remember that you don’t need to talk.” I said instead. If he wants to speak, I’ll make it happen. If he doesn’t, then I will work around it. 

“I know. There is nothing left though. If I am going to win this, then I need to say something.” He said. I nodded and smiled to myself, maybe we do have a chance in this. 

Once we were allowed back into the chamber there was a lot of commotion. I could hear the many members of the court whispering about Dumbledore. Some were saying he was crazy and losing his mind. Others were saying that he should have made a statement sooner. Then more people could be on the lookout for signs of his return. A few were saying that this case should not be happening then. That we need our savior alive if he is truly back. Those were the people I was most worried about. 

“Order in the court. I demand silence and order in my court.” Amelia said. The chattering stopped suddenly and she nodded.

“Good. Amelia do you have another witness lined up for today?” She asked, looking through parchment in front of her. 

“Actually Madame Bones, I would like to speak.” Harry said, moving to sit in the chair. She looked down at him and nodded.

“Good, that’s good. Now, can you sit-” She began but the minister glared right at her. 

“Absolutely not, we do not need to hear his sob story.” He said. Well, that tells me where he stands on this matter. 

“Minister, if I may, Harry is the one who filed this case. It is only right that he explains why.” I attempt. This led to more whispers in the court and Harry stopped right in his tracks. 

“No, absolutely not. Besides, he is not even of Hogwarts age. We don’t allow minors to testify in this court.” He said. I wanted to point out that Harry is going to Hogwarts in September. I also wanted to point out that we didn’t want this case to be dealt out in here. That Dumbledore is the one who brought this to the large courtroom. I kept my mouth shut though and looked at Amelia. She could get this one under control. 

“Minister-” She tried but he wasn’t about to listen. He continued on and on about how this was a horrible idea. That this case should not have been here to begin with. That there is no law in place that supports this case. 

“Minister, I want to hear what Harry has to say.” Lily called out to him. That was new, to say the least. Harry looked back at his mother with a hopeful expression. I didn’t want to be the one to remind him that she would also question him. There was no stopping that one. 

“Minister, I believe that we should listen to what he has to say.” Amelia said. He grunted and rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but make it good.” He grumbled. I nodded and moved to stand next to him.

“State your name for the record.” Amelia said. He did so and she went right through the basic questions before passing the questioning role to me. 

“Harry, when did you come to me for help?” I asked him. 

“The first of July.” He said simply. 

“Can you tell me what it is that you told me when you requested my help?” I asked.

“I wanted you to help me sue my parents for the right to my own body.” He said. I could tell that he was beginning to panic a bit, so I went to a few simpler questions. 

“Can you explain to everyone what that meant?” I asked. Okay, maybe not so simple but if he doesn’t know then this whole thing falls apart. 

“I wanted to be in charge of if I had to go through surgery again. Also, I wanted to be able to have a say in if I donate my magic to my sister again.” He explained. I fought the urge to smile at his words. It may not be elegant, he is ten years old after all, but it explained everything he meant. 

“Why did you feel the need to do that?” I asked him. He faltered at the question and he began to look around. His eyes darted from Lily to Molly then back at me.

“I was asked to.” He said. At that moment I swore I could hear the sound of a pin drop. The white noise in the room seemed to stop and everyone’s eyes were trained on him. 

“Harry, what do you mean by that?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. Harry looked nervous and bit his lip. His eyes were darting around the room before they landed on Lily. He then shook his head and looked back at me.

“She asked me to.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how hard it was for me to not post this any sooner. Though I am guessing you were happy about the early update too. Don't worry, I'll post the next chapter later when I wake up since it's only 10 p.m where I am (when this chapter was posted)


	42. Harry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like always italics mean flashbacks. However, in this chapter, if there is a flashback it also is Harry telling them what was happening in those moments. If that makes sense lol.

The first time I ever did public speaking was in my first year of primary school. I had a line in our holiday play and I rehearsed it every single night. The day I had to say it in front of the audience I puked. After that, I didn’t try out or volunteer to speak in front of a lot of people. Now I am here, in this chamber, and I may have let my biggest secret out. 

“Harry, what do you mean by she asked you to?” Andie asked. I closed my eyes, trying to remember what had led to this whole thing. When did it really start to go from bad to, well, this?

“During holiday break last year mum mentioned alternative solutions to the magic donations. One of them included them removing part of my core to form a new one for Jasmine.” I explained. 

_“They want to test if it’s her core that’s damaged. Maybe if they repair the damaged core it will form magic on its own.” Mum suggested. Jasmine looked horrified at the thought and I just sat there in wonder._

_“Would my core grow back?” I asked her._

“Is it possible?” Andie asked and I shook my head. 

“Not on its own. The magical core is not like other organs like your liver. They would need to use magic to regrow it, and even then it is not a safe procedure. Repairs are one thing, regrowth is another.” I explained. It was what the healers told me when I asked them about it.

“So, you did this because your mother wanted to remove part of your magical core?” Andie asked and I shook my head. I wish it were that simple.

_Jasmine was laying on the couch. She just woke up from her pain potion induced nap and I just happened to be there._

_“Hey.” She said, a small smile was on her face. This either meant she was in a good mood for once or the pain potion was still in her system._

_“Good nap?” I asked her. She nodded and held her hand out to me. I grabbed it and helped her sit up. She then patted the couch cushion next to her so I sat next to her. _

_“Are you going to do it?” She asked me after we sat in silence for a few minutes. I nodded without thinking. Of course, I would do this for her. _

“She asked me not to go through with it.” I tell them. I could see mum was in shock, I couldn’t blame her for that, I barely believed Jasmine when she said it.

_“I’m done with all of this. The constant pain and being in and out of the hospital.” She said. Her voice was shaking and she had tears building in her eyes. I tried to calm her down. I tried to tell her that this time would be the last._

_“It is never the last time Harry. It was supposed to be the last time the last time we were in there. You almost died once. I almost died once.” She said. I wanted to argue with her but it’s true. We almost died so many times, so what? We always come out of this alright._

_“I know you are tired of it.” She then said. _

“Were you?” Andie asked me. I nodded and sighed.

“I mean it isn’t fun going there so often. I don’t like how tired and sick I get from the procedure. The potions before and after always make me feel ill. Then it takes me forever to feel normal again.” I said. I know I sound like a kid, sue me. It does suck. 

“Is this when she asked you to take your parents to court?” She asked me. I shook my head no. She didn’t even ask me to do this.

_“What do you want me to do? They won’t listen to me. Even when I try to suggest waiting another week they tell me to stop overreacting.” I remind her. She smiled sadly at me and placed a hand on my shoulder._

_“I know they won't listen. That's why we have to do it ourselves.” She said. It took me a minute to figure out what she meant by this._

_“No, you can’t.” I choked out. I looked around the room for any potion viles that shouldn’t be in here. Anything to suggest that it was too late. I found nothing._

_“You can’t kill yourself Jazz.” I told her, I could already feel my eyes filling with tears as I prepared myself to beg her to reconsider._

_“I know I can’t Harry.” She said. Her voice commanded me to look at her, so I did. That is when I saw it. The look of calm in her eyes and the fact she finally looked like she was at peace. It was only then when I figured out what she meant. _

“No. You’re lying. There is no way she would mean that.” Mum called out to me. I looked back at her and shook my head.

“She did mum. She could never talk to you about it, you only freak out.” I said. She did try to tell mum, it didn’t end well.

_“Mum just stop. I don’t want to go.” I heard Jasmine yell from the second floor. I was waiting by the door for them to come. _

_“Jasmine, you know that you don’t have a choice. We need to get your core scanned. This will tell us when we need to start treatment.” Mum said. I wanted to roll my eyes at them but something was different about this time._

_“Mum I don’t want to anymore. Screw the bloody core scans. I just want to read my book and write to my friends.” She said. It sounded like she just wanted to stay home. Until you listen to the tone. She didn’t sound whiney. She sounded tired. She sounded defeated. _

_“Fine, just stay in bed then. If you don’t want to get better then I guess we can stay right here.” Mum said, her tone suggested that she was irritated._

_“Thank you.” Jasmine said. I could hear mum grumbling about something then some shuffling. _

_“Get your butt back here. I won’t let your teenage angst kill you!” She said, and it was the end of that conversation._

“Mum, she is ready to go.” I said. I can barely control my emotions. Tears were falling down my face and I looked right at my mother in the eyes.

“I don’t want her to die. I never wanted to do this. She is so tired mum. She doesn’t want to keep going. I am the only person who can give her what she wants right now. I was the only person who wanted to listen to her.” Andie touched my arm, bringing my gaze back to her. 

“When did you decide to go through with this?” She asked me. I sighed and looked down at my fist.

“It was right after we got the results back in June.” I started. 

_Jasmine was laying in bed and I was sitting on the side of it. She had her book resting in her lap since she was too tired to actually read it. She had just taken the pain potion so she was really out of it. _

_“Don’t do it.” She told me. I didn’t have to ask what she was talking about. Mum told us earlier that they just wanted magic this time, that the core transplant wasn’t in the plans just yet. I didn’t know what that really meant at the time. _

_“Of course I am going to. It’s just magic.” I tell her, placing my book down. She shook her head and closed her eyes._

_“It’s not just magic. You remember what the healers said last time.” She said. Of course I did, it scared the crap out of me. The idea of my magic being so sensitive that it could backfire on me. _

_“Don’t do it Harry.” She said softly before she fell asleep. _

“Harry.” Mum tried and I couldn’t take it. I was openly crying at this point and I couldn’t care less. I needed to let it all out, let the adults take care of this for the first time.

“Do you need to take a break?” Amelia asked me. I shook my head and looked back at Andie.

“Do you want to continue the questioning?” She asked me. I nodded and she sighed.

“Do you love your sister?” She asked me.

“Of course I do.” I said. How could she not know that? It is the only reason I am doing this.

“Do you love her enough to save her?” She asked me. 

“I love her enough to let her go.” I whispered. I didn’t want her to die, but she was ready. I didn’t want to say goodbye to her, but she said it was the only way. 

“She told me it was the only way that we both won in the end. I think a part of me always knew that this is where it would end. I think a part of me also wanted this to come.” I admitted. It sounded dark but it’s true. She had to die so I could live. I would have to die if she wanted to live.

“Is there anything else you want to share?” She asked me and I nodded. 

“The night before I hired you. She snuck into my room after dinner. Mum and dad were downstairs cleaning up after dinner. Charlus came in with her and she told us to be quiet.” 

_Jasmine locked the door behind her and sat on the edge of the bed before launching into what was needed._

_“Do you have the money?” She asked me. I nodded and then looked over at Charlus._

_“Do you know what you’re supposed to do?” She asked him._

_“Stay out of the way after I get Harry on the Knight bus. I also can’t tell anyone.” He said. There was something off about the way he said it, almost as though he wasn’t sure. _

_“Great. Now, Harry, you know that once you do this you can’t back out.” She reminds me. I nodded even though I was shaking. _

_“Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked her. She nodded in affirmation._

_“I’m ready.” She said._

“You’re brother was in on this too?” She asked me. I nodded and took a peak back at my mum. She looked as though her whole world was crashing around her. I had to fight the urge to apologize again. This had to get out. There was no way they would tell a dying girl she had to live. She was ready and we all knew that this last donation meant nothing anyways. She wanted this to be over. We all did.

“What did your sister say when you told her that you came to see me?” Andie asked. 

_Jasmine crawled into my bed at some point in the night. The change in weight on the mattress woke me up immediately and I looked right at her._

_“You came home pretty late.” She whispered. I nodded and sighed, looking down._

_“Did you do it?” She asked me, her voice was barely audible. It took me a while to figure out what to say to her. I figured the truth would do just fine though._

_“Yeah, she said she would do it for free.” I tell her. Her eyes lit despite there being no real light coming into the room. She was also smiling softly. _

“She said thanks.” I finished. Andie looked heartbroken at the news, as did everyone in the courtroom. I knew that what I did was awful. I am a selfish person for doing all of this. If I had just told her I would donate none of this would have happened. Still, I did it. I did it so I would be free. I did it so she had a chance at freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions, comments, concerns? If there are any leave them in the comment section down below! I'd be glad to explain anything that you don't understand!


	43. James

Jasmine was uncharacteristically cheerful today. She had been chatty with Charlus before I had Remus take him out for lunch. I also had a long conversation with her about her options. I knew that a donation was off the table, not that she needed one to start with. We could repair her core and she will produce magic safely. Yes, she will be back in here, but that is normal to her. She might hate it now but she will get over it. This way they both win and-

“Dad, are you leaving mum?” She asked me. I was not expecting that to say the least. I didn’t want to hurt her, but lying is not the best thing either. 

“I am not sure.” I said. She nodded and looked at the window, though I doubt she could actually see out of it from her position.

“Don’t lie to me.” She said sadly. The thing is, I am not sure if I can leave her. She has been apart of my life for years. Did I want to leave her at that moment? Of course. She hurt my son. She said she wished that he were-I really shouldn’t relive that moment. It was making my blood boil again and I could feel the anger that I felt at that moment start to take over. 

“I love your mother.” I told her. She looked back at me and smiled sadly.

“If you leave mum where will we stay?” She asked me. I never thought about that. With the case and her dying, I haven’t been able to think over the details. I wouldn’t have married Lily if she hadn’t been born. Her being sick is what kept this marriage alive. Lily would want her, so would I. I could never give up seeing my children full time. 

“I’m not sure.” I said. She frowned and looked back at the wall that had the window. 

“Charlus and Harry should live with you.” She said. I nodded, I was planning on fighting for them. It was obvious to me. 

“Where do you want to live?” I asked her. She didn’t seem to hear me. Her eyes were still on the wall with the window. She seemed to be entranced by whatever it was she saw. 

“I want to go to the beach.” She finally said. That would be fun. It would be a nice trip for the kids after these crazy weeks. The sun and fresh air might be good for her too. She could use anything that she is lacking from laying in bed. 

“That sounds good. Do you miss the waves hitting your legs?” I asked. She nodded and looked at me sadly.

“Can we go?” She asked. That took me aback, did she mean now?

“I mean, Harry and your mum are still in the courthouse. I’m sure they would love to when it is all over. Maybe in a few days.” I said. She frowned and looked back at that wall.

“I might not be around by then.” She whispered. I had no idea what to say. There was no way she meant what I thought she meant. Not my child who would fight until she was forced to stop. 

“Jasmine, you’ll be fine. The ritual was a success as was the surgery. They just need to patch you up. Her head snapped right back at me and she violently shook her head. 

“No, I am not going to make it. I am going to die dad.” She tells me. Her voice was soft but I could hear the aggression behind the words. There was a look of desperation on her face that contradicted the tone in her voice. 

“Honey, you aren’t going to die. We can go to the beach after you get out.” I said, running my hand through her hair. It normally calms her down, but right now it wasn’t working. The look on her face was still one in despair and she seemed to be shaking now. I had no idea how to convince her that she would be alright. 

“My core has holes in it. If my magic seeps through the holes it will flow either through my nerves or my blood.” She started. I wanted to ask her how she knew that. We were told about the initial core repair back when she was three. She couldn’t possibly remember that, so someone would have had to tell her.

“They can repair the core though. Sweetheart, you’ll be fine.” I promised her. She shook her head and handed me a pamphlet. 

“If they don’t operate on me soon it will seep through the next time I use magic. If it goes through my nerves then at best it will damage my nerve endings. Electricity and magic don’t mix dad. At worst my nerves will go haywire and my magic could make everything shut down.” She said. Then it would be best to let her go peacefully.

“If it goes through my blood then it has access to my organs.” She said. Magic would try to fix everything and attack everything it sees as damaged. The next time she got sick it would attack white blood cells by accident. Lack of white blood cells opened her up to the risks of infection. That would put her back in here more often. Which opens her up to more risk. That is no life for her. It also has a chance to attack her organs. Especially if the Horcrux isn’t fully gone. That was another issue too. Then there is the whole she needs to destroy the Dark Lord thing. 

“That’s why I did it dad. That’s why this whole thing happened.” She whispered. I looked back down at her and frowned.

“What are you talking about honey?” I asked her, petting her hair.

“I asked him to do it. I am ready to go daddy.” She said, looking back at me.

“Please let me go.” She said.


	44. Andromeda

We were sent out on another recess. This time it was for Amelia and the minister to decide on where they were taking this case next. There was an obvious solution, they could rule in favor of Harry then let us all go home. Then there is the whole Jasmine situation. Her wanting this more than Harry was an issue. He was tired of it, I could easily see that. Though he wouldn't have gone through with this if he hadn't been asked to. They could see this as a sign that he was willing to donate if they ruled in favor of Lily Potter. I hate the politics this case is bringing in. It makes everything so much more complicated. 

"Andie?" I hear Harry ask. I looked over and saw that he had made his way back over to me. I could also see that Molly Weasley was still wiping her eyes on the bench. Lily seemingly disappeared the moment the doors had been opened to let us out.

"Yes?" Harry looked worried. He shouldn't be though, he did just fine. I understand now why he kept that information away from me. He likely didn't want to say it in there anyways. It was a powerful bit of information that really could have turned against him. 

"Can we leave? I want to see Jasmine." He said. His voice was softer than it had ever been. I wanted to say we could and let him head back to the hospital. We can't though, she might have more questions for him. Lily also still has the opportunity to formally question him as well. I hope she doesn't though, he had gone through enough today as it is. 

"I'm sorry, we can't leave until Amelia tells us we can." I say sympathetically. He huffed and headed back to Molly, who pulled him into a large hug. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was suffocating him.

"We are lucky James wasn't in court today." I hear someone say. I turned around only to face Sirius, who had a solemn look. I could only agree with that point. James would not have taken the news well. Even worse, he could have already known and made Lily look more obsessive than she truly was. She may be opposing me in this case but I don't need or want her reputation ruined. Well, more than it already is. 

"He probably already knew. If he didn't, then I doubt he would be so willing to help Harry." I tell him. Sirius gave me a doubtful look and led me to where Molly and Harry were sitting. 

"Your mother has the right to question you." I remind Harry. He nodded and leaned closer into Molly's embrace. 

"She won't ask me anything. She doesn't want to hear anymore." He said. I wished that were true for him. If it were Nymphadora who said those things I would want to know more. I am not the same as Lily Potter though, and that makes a world of a difference. 

"Why don't we go take a walk? Get some fresh air." Molly suggested. I nodded in agreement and helped Harry stand up. 

"Thanks." He said. None of us responded, instead we led him to the elevator. I made sure to keep hold of his shoulder. The stairs were not the easiest things to walk on after they were mopped and we did not need him slipping. Soon enough we were out of the ministry and were walking around the courtyard. Harry seemed to be very interested in the greenery, or he was spacing out. Regardless he was unusually quiet. Sirius was as well, which did not bode well for any of us usually.

"This is nice." Molly commented. I nodded in agreement and looked around. It was cloudy and it would definitely rain sometime soon. Still, the fresh air was a nice change from the chamber we were in all day. 

"Do you think they will arrest Dumbledore?" Sirius asked me. I shrugged, I had no idea what they were going to do. Technically they had no grounds for arresting him. Though if he kept up his scheming they might corner him sooner or later. 

"I doubt it. He has to much influence." Molly said. There was also that. He was too powerful to overthrow. At least right now that is. The only way his scheming won't work is if they can't save Jasmine. Regardless of how this case goes they will try everything to keep that girl alive. 

"He might lose some now, though with Jasmine alive he still has power. She is a pawn in his game." Sirius sighed. Harry looked up and gave us a curious look but he didn't comment. 

"Let's head back. We will need to talk to Amelia anyways." I said, leading Harry back to the ministry. The other two followed us and soon we were back in front of the chamber. Oddly Lily was still not there. Though with the number of people that seemingly appeared in the past hour or so she could easily be lost in the crowd. 

"Members of the Wizengamot please take your seats." A person said, leading the large group of people inside the chamber. It was then when I finally spotted Lily. She was sitting on the bench across from the door, not looking at anyone. Her eyes were trained on the floor and her shoulders were shaking. I could feel Harry pulling away from us and he sat next to her. 

"That kid has a way too big of a heart."Sirius whispered to us. I didn't agree, I think his heart is the right size. 

"Alright, they are ready for you all." We are then told, which led us to be brought back into the chamber. Harry sat in the chair in the middle, where he had been sitting before. Lily stayed quietly behind us, not really paying attention to where she was heading. I wanted to feel sympathetic for her. I really did. 

"Mr. Potter, in light of the newest information you gave us, I have to ask you a few more questions." Amelia told him. Harry nodded and shifted in his seat. 

"First, do you still want to go through with this trial?" She asked him. Harry nodded immediately, making Sirius and I breathe in relief. He knew that this was still needed, at least for him to keep his promise to Jasmine. 

"Alright. Now, when you said that-" She continued to ask him clarifying questions about his statement. After a few minutes of her questioning him, she let Lily come up to ask him her questions. 

"I have no further questions." Lily said, her voice was oddly soft.

"If that's the case, I think it is appropriate that I go ask Jasmine some questions. If that is alright with you Lady Potter." She said.

"Of course." She said. Amelia smiled and banged her gavel.

"Alright, I will send out the court information for when we will meet tomorrow. I will be showing you the memory of my meeting with Jasmine since she can't be here." She said. We were then allowed to leave, though I knew that Lily, Sirius, Harry, and I would be heading straight to the hospital right after her. There was no way we were going to miss what Jasmine had to say now. 


	45. Lily

I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what Amelia was asking Jasmine. If I don't hear it, then it isn't true. Even though I know Harry wouldn't lie about this a part of me wants to believe that he was. There was no way my daughter was giving up. Not now when we were so close to healing her. When we finally get there I see my little girl. She is laying back with her younger brother. Both kids look tired as they play cards on her bed. Jasmine had a bandage wrapped around her chest, it looked as though it would need to be redressed soon. 

"Grindelwald or the Dark Lord?" Charlus asked. Jasmine looked conflicted before raising an eyebrow.

"Grindelwald. Easy, he was more influential. Dumbeldore or Merlin?" She asked. Charlus gasped playfully and put a card down. 

"Merlin. Salazar Slytherin or-" He didn't finish as he noticed I was there. Jasmine perked up and smiled at me.

"Hey, mum-who is that?" She asked me. I sighed and let Amelia introduce herself and I took Charlus out of the room. I knew that this would likely be the deciding factor in Amelia's decision. With Dumbledore off the case, it was up to her final statement and the rest of the votes. Harry looked as though he wanted to talk to her, but he didn't say anything. 

"Harry, I need you to wait out there." Amelia informed him. He nodded and left the room. He then grabbed Charlus's hand and the two boys walked away. I stayed there and listened in on what they were talking about. It started with her asking Jasmine about what she knew about the whole thing and why she would ask her brother to do this. I couldn't pay attention for long, it was too hard to hear her voice saying those words. 

"I just can't take it anymore. I am sick of not knowing how long this will last. I am sick of being sick. I just want this to be over." She tells her. 

I stopped listening, instead, I look at Andie and James. They both looked troubled as they stood there. I tried to think about anything but James rushing in telling us she is alive just moments after I yelled at our baby. A few minutes pass before Amelia came out. She looked even more troubled than the rest of us. 

"Tomorrow. Closing statements. Nine in the morning." She informs all of us. None of us made a move to disagree with her. We then headed into the room, the two boys seemed to notice since they followed us into the room. 

"I'm sorry." I hear one of the boys say, I am not sure which at this point. I could only look at the state Jasmine is in. She is more pale than normal and her vitals are lower than they should be. This was supposed to work. Her core should have mended itself. Dumbledore promised this would be the end of it. 

"I know." Jasmine said.I then looked at her and saw how tired she was. Her eyes had dark circles under them, her hair was a mess. The scars and bumps that littered her arms and the rash she always got from the potions they put her on. She looked like she has given up. When did she start looking like this? 

I watched as Harry climbed onto the bed and curled into Jasmine's side. She patted his shoulder before closing her eyes. My instincts kicked in and I quickly got everyone out of the room, giving my husband and children time to tell her goodnight. 

"Get some sleep." James tells her, kissing her head. Jasmine smiled sleepily as she waved goodbye. Before I left her I got one last hug from her.

"Mum." She whispered as I headed towards the door.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"It's time for me to go." I don't know what hurt more, hearing her say it or knowing it's true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait to post this chapter but it's so short I figured I would give you guy's a small surprise. That and I always want to post the next chapter to see what you all think. 
> 
> Also, not to alarm anyone but there are only 11 chapters left after this one. Meaning this whole fic will be done in less than 2 weeks! I am almost sad that this will be over so soon.   
Speaking of an end date, I am thinking about writing a few one-shots that would take place before the events of this fic. I wouldn't post anything until after this fic is done and there is a chance that some of the one-shots could take place during and after this fic takes place in my universe. Let me know down below if you would be interested in that.


	46. Andromeda June 11th

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the next 4 chapters are being posted now since they all are like 110 words or under. If you read the book you know why these chapters exist.

It's raining. I didn't want to go to court today. The ministry was always crowded on bad weather days. More people stayed inside and it was hard enough to navigate where you were going. I took a sip of my tea and looked at the raindrops hit my window. Ted was on the telly, informing everyone about the poor weather. 

"Mum, shouldn't you be heading out soon?" My daughter asked me. I looked at her sadly and patted the spot next to me. I just wanted to sit here with her and convince myself that today would go well. She sat with me and laid her head on my shoulder. 

"Things will go well." She told me. I wanted to believe this was true. 


	47. Charlus

It's raining. Uncle Remus was with me when it started and we both ran back to the house. I was soaked by the time we made it back home. I stayed outside for a few minutes, letting the water hit my head. It cleared my mind with no issue. I almost wanted to stay out here forever. 

Once when I fought during a storm the other kid nearly knocked himself out from sliding. The group decided that day not to let any newbies come in during a storm. It was to risky. 


	48. Harry

It's raining. I can still feel the water that soaked in through my socks. When it rains like this mum used to get sad. She said it was because it is almost never sunny out here and the rain reminds her about the sun the most. I used to sit with her all night when that happened. 

The last time it rained this badly I was playing football. I ended up slipping on the water and slid. I had mud covering me from head to toe and mum had to spell the mud off of me before letting me come into the house. Dad thought it was hilarious. 


	49. James

It's raining. I am sitting in Jasmine's room, for now, keeping an eye on her while Lily was away. Sirius was going to send Remus to come to get me before they make their decision. I stared out the window and watched as the rain fell. It suited the situation. One child finished her fight, it's time for the other one.

I remember when we picked Harry's name. Lily was talking about her father and I liked it. I asked her if we could make a more traditional wizard's name and call him Harry. She said no so quickly I thought she summoned the thunder that we heard right after. Rain always is apart of our lives. 


	50. Lily

It’s raining. I could hear the sound of the rain hitting the building and the evidence of it remained on everyone waiting outside of the chamber. From wet hair to damp clothes, there was not a single one of us that looked composed. Andromeda was sitting with Harry, whispering something to him. He didn’t seem to be paying attention though, instead, he was looking at me. I couldn’t meet his eyes, instead, I was looking anywhere but. With every sound of footsteps, I was ready to jump up. Though If I did I am sure I would run in the other direction. I didn’t want to be here, not when I knew that there was no way that this would end out well. If I win, then I lose everything. If I lose, then I lose everything. This case should have ended by now, though looking back at it all

"They are ready for you." We are told, which led to the three of us heading into the dark chambers. The sound of thunder filled the room and when that was not there, I could easily hear the sound of whispers in the stands. I am not sure which one was worse at this moment. Soon Amelia started her summary to remind everyone what has been covered these past few days. I try to listen though I can't bring myself to pay attention. I knew what was being said, everyone did. I am not sure a single person in this room could forget how badly this case turned. How I have been made out as a monster that only cares about her sick child. That couldn't be further from the truth, still, I can see why they thought that. I am not sure I didn't think that after hearing those statistics. I don't know what to believe anymore. I just want to leave. I want to be anywhere but in this courtroom. 

"Lady Potter, can you please give us your closing statement?" I am asked and I stepped to the center of the floor. I couldn't remember a word of what I wanted to say, even though I had rehearsed this statement a thousand times in my head. There is nothing I could say to make this right. The damage has been done. 

"Lords and Ladies we are here today to-" I tried to find the words but they wouldn't come. I wish I had written down what I wanted to say, though It wouldn't have saved me at this moment. I probably would have dropped them at the first sound of thunder or when the room shook due to the lightning. 

"In Europe, there are no-" I tried again still the words wouldn't come. I could see that they were becoming impatient as I looked around the room. My eyes soon landed on my son and I had to look away for a moment. I couldn't look at him as I said this or the words would never come. 

"Lady Potter?" I took a deep breath and looked back at Harry and I sighed. There was no way I could speak before I got this off my chest. 

“Harry you have to know that I love you. I love you more than anything. You may have been a surprise, but you have to know that doesn’t matter. That never mattered.” I tell him, though I am not sure he believed the words. I had told him this a thousand times throughout his life, maybe he never believed them. 

“ We are here today so you all can decide if I am able to make medical decisions for my ten-year-old child. You probably don’t think that I can. That I can’t be unbiased due to my sick child. Maybe there will always be a small part of me that will be. Still, you can’t fault me for trying to save my child.” My thoughts went straight to said child who was probably in her bed. She still hasn’t gone into surgery, due to everything going on here we haven’t gotten the chance to figure out her treatment plan. Maybe I should have signed her up for the surgery to repair her core, then we could make a permanent decision later. Though this is not the time to think about this. I have to get through this statement first.

“When you are a parent, everything changes. Suddenly you have this person who needs you. Needs you to keep them safe, to keep them alive. I had her when I was still a child. I didn’t know what I was doing, I still don’t. All I knew how to do was keep going, keep her alive until the next battle.” The parents in the stands would know what I was talking about. They could sympathize with this. At least this is what I was hoping as I said it. At this point, I was letting my mouth run. I had no idea what I was really saying, there was no thought. Not really, I just wanted to leave. I wanted to be with my other child and comfort her as we try to get out of this battle alive. 

“When you are a child all you want is to be treated the same as your sibling. You want the same amount of grapes on your dinner plate. The same-sized pizza slice. The same amount of attention.” I could tell by the eye roll Andromeda gave that this was getting way off-topic. Still, I had to try anything at this point. After everything, this was my last shot of persuading them. Even if I didn’t fully believe in what I was saying anymore. 

“My sister and I always hated that the other got more attention from my parents. I didn’t understand how she thought I got more since she got them all year. While I only got to see them on holidays and summer break. Still, it wasn’t fair to her, and I can only think that it is unfair in your eyes.” From the look, Harry gave me I was way off basis. Maybe I didn’t know my child after all. 

“Maybe you all think that this is irrelevant, and I understand that. I am trying to show you that no parent is perfect and we don’t get it right. My parents did the best they could and so am I. I am trying to figure this out. I am trying, so please know that I am only doing my best. I am doing my best to be a parent to three completely different children. I am doing my best to give my child a fighting chance in this world.” As I finished it hit me that I was not going to win this. Whatever winning meant in this situation. This was a fight that I couldn’t fight anymore, and maybe that was a good thing. Regardless of who wins this, I knew that I just wanted to be where I should have been. Right next to my child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I didn't post this earlier. I was gone all day then when I went to edit the next chapter I accidentally deleted this chapter. So I had to rewrite this chapter and well now we are here.


	51. Andromeda

I stood and stared at all of the wizards staring back at us. Many looked enraged, but I knew this would need a final statement. Something to win them over for sure, at least those here that believed everything Dumbledore says. I then looked at Harry and it clicked. This was not about Dumbledore. This was not about donations and hospital visits. This was about a young boy who was alone, neglected, and who just needed the help he could get. This was his way to get help and maybe become something out there. If they could get maybe two more people up there they would have a chance. 

"Ladies and gentlemen. This story is not about the Girl Who Lived. I know it is hard to see past a sick child who is constantly in a battle for her magic to work. Especially when she did so much for us as a society at a very young age. Remember this though, this is about a young boy. A young boy who is constantly wondering if he will be coming home after a hospital visit. A young boy who spent years of his life worried that he won't get to see Hogwarts. A young boy who wants his right to say no to be heard. Any of you would listen to your child who had the same concerns. So why shouldn't we help him be heard?" She asked, looking back at Harry. 

"This situation is not easy. They had no idea at what point was too far, or if they have reached that point yet. We know even less than them. The only person who seems to know is a ten-year-old boy. Though, he is only ten. He hasn't been to school yet and when does a child know better than their parents? This child didn't even decide to come to me for a selfish reason." I continue, now looking over at Amelia and the others sitting right in the center. 

"His sister doesn't want this donation. The person who just survived a painful and life-threatening surgery does not want this to continue. Who are we to decide whether or not a ten-year-old should lose his magic? Who are we to force a child to take their sibling's magic? Who are we to make a choice? I am not just referring to us as the court, but I am referring to James and Lily Potter too." I knew my turn would be over soon and I finally look back to Harry and smile. 

"This boy deserves the chance to be heard. This boy has been hurt enough for us to listen." I say. Amelia called a fifteen-minute break and we all exit the room. I could see the people leave and I make sure that Harry is near me. I didn't know how he would react to these last moments in the court.

"You ready?" I ask Harry as we sit down. He looked up at me and shrugged. I wasn't sure either. From the feeling in the room, it could sway either way. Sadly the break finished sooner than we hoped and we were brought back into the room. I stood right next to Harry as we walked into the chamber. 

"When we initiated this case it was meant to just be me and the two parties. The case was supposed to be cut and dry, yet it is not. This is not an argument about who gets to live or die, we all know death will happen eventually. Instead, this is a debate on the quality of life versus the chance of saving a life." She started. I could tell that this was not going the way I wanted it to. Though Amelia was known for being fair. Unless Umbridge somehow gets to speak then we will be fine. 

"Neither should be debated as they should be kept separate. The Potters have intertwined their ability to keep Jasmine alive with Harry's quality of life. It is our job to find a middle ground or choose which is more important. I am sure that we all agree this isn't fair." She said. The general response of the room seemed as though they agreed. 

"With the war that has passed, we have all had to burry family and say goodbye to friends. I am sure that you all have wished that you could have five more minutes to say goodbye. That you would have given anything to keep them just a little longer. The Potters have been dealing with this for the past eleven years. I know that this is going to be an impossible position, but we must put it up to a vote. Do you, as the court, believe that Harry Potter should have the right to decide if he should donate his magic?" She asked. We all watched as wands were raised. Surprisingly the Malfoys were the first to raise a wand, then the Abbots, and then the Longbottoms. Before long I couldn't count and Harry held his breath. I could see Lily become paler and paler as the wands were raised. 

"As I assume you all can see, Harry Potter we as the Wizengamot have declared you medically emancipated. I do ask that you and your parents speak to your primary MedWitch and inform her that this is happening. I will also be sending a letter to Madame Poppy as well. Lastly, Lady Tonks, I do ask you to keep an eye on them. If anything were to happen you will be medical proxy until he is seventeen years of age." She informed us. We all agreed and she disbanded the court. Harry and I stayed still as Amelia headed over to us. She was holding papers that I assumed we had to sign. I looked over and saw Sirius hugging Harry while James kept a hand on his arm. Lily looked as though she were in shock. I would be too, though at this point it was for the best. 

"You did the right thing." I hear a voice. I looked behind me and see Ted and Molly Weasley heading over to me. I just nod and sighed, this was the right thing but I was not sure if it would help him in the long run. 

"The battle may have been won, but this is far from over." I tell them. 


	52. Harry

Hearing that I was going to be free shocked me to the core. I never thought it would get this far. I thought that maybe they would push this long enough that she would die. I thought that I would lose but wouldn't feel bad about it. I thought that maybe, Jasmine would forgive me for not fighting all I could. Yet I did win. She survived the surgery and I won. Two of the many things I worried about walking into this courtroom worked out in the end. I couldn't believe it. It was almost to good to be true. I looked around and watched as the adults set up for the next trial and Andie talked to Madame Bones. I could see a girl my age standing next to her, trying to look at the papers I had just signed. I bit my lip nervously and tried to look away, she was a little cute. Like how my sister could be called cute or if Sirius had a baby, the baby would be cute. Not in a 'girls are cute' kind of way. 

"Hey, pup." Sirius called me over. I was glad I could have a distraction. Today was weird enough, I didn't need to be thinking about some girl I haven't met yet. 

"Yeah, Siri?" I called back. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and led me over to where Andie and Madame Bones were. I instantly tried to pull away from him but he was stronger than I was. 

"You just spoke in front of all of the wizengamot and you can't talk to a girl your age?" He teased. I could feel my face turn bright red and I tried to pull away from him a little harder. 

"I talk to Mione all the time." I protested. He rolled his eyes but stopped trying to pull me away. I could hear the rain a little better now. I guessed it was because all of the anxiety I was feeling earlier left me and I could focus on the quietness in the room. 

"What do you think I should do?" I asked him. Not really sure what I was meant to do now that I was emancipated. 

"I think Andie would be upset that you don't know." He said. I rolled my eyes and leaned my head on his arm. 

"I think that you will go and visit with Jasmine. I think you will complain that Hogwarts doesn't have a football team. I think you will talk to miss Susan Bones on the train in a couple of months." He listed. I smiled, now knowing the redhead's name. Susan seemed to fit her. As for what Sirius was saying, I had to admit that it was pretty true. We were going to see Jasmine as soon as Andie signed the papers. I was complaining about the lack of football at Hogwarts as soon as Jasmine informed us there was no team. I might talk to her if she sees me on the train. 

"What about you and dad?" I asked him. He smiled and shrugged. I figured they would be okay. 

"Now, what do you think you will be doing now? Got everything figured out?" He asked. I knew he was teasing, I am only ten after all. Still, I could travel the world. I could become a curse breaker like Ron's brother. I could be a magizoologist like how Charlus wanted to be forever. I could be an auror like dad, a teacher like mum wanted to be. I could do anything and be everything. Though, there was one thing that would always stick out to me. 

"Ready to go?" Andie called out to us. I nodded and let Sirius lead us out of the chambers. We could face the crowd together. We could get out of this mess together. I may not have everything figured out right now, I may never have anything figured out. The only thing that would be constant is that Jasmine would always be my sister. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so two things:  
1: I might be without wifi from Tuesday afternoon-Thursday afternoon. So we have options, one is that I post the last two chapters on Thursday afternoon/evening (depending on where you are these dates and times might be different). The second option is that I post everything before I go without wifi, this would mean that I post two-three chapters depending on the day up until Tuesday. The pro part of the first option is that it gives me time to reconsider my ending. The pro to the second option is that you'll get the last few chapters sooner.
> 
> With that: If you want a happy ending I'd stop reading past this chapter. Starting with the next chapter your heart will be broken and it doesn't get any better until the very last chapter. This is your final warning ;)


	53. James

I was on my way back from the manor with Charlus when I got the Patronus. We were maybe a block away from the hospital. Remus had stayed at the manor since he wanted to pack his things. Charlus had a bag that he was taking to the safe house. 

“Dad, it’s padfoot.” Charlus said when it came bounding towards us. I nodded and waited for it to get to us. Maybe Harry changed his mind or they went to get food. “Meet us at the entrance.” The words were panicked and finished as soon as they came. I could feel my heart stop as the words played in my mind over and over again. Did something happen? Maybe Jasmine flat lined again. Maybe Lily decided to kick them out. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good. I grabbed Charlus’s hand and ran to the building. When we arrived I instantly saw the medwizards levitating a body into the hospital. I didn't see the face at first but one of them recognized me and waved me over. It wasn't until I got closer did I recognize the body. Then my world came crashing down. No, it couldn't be. I just saw him an hour ago at most. He was asking me if he could see Jasmine when they were done. He wanted to stay the night here with her. I told him I would ask the healers and that I would pick up his clothes so he didn't have to sleep in his robes. 

“Dad, why are they levitating Harry?” My other son asked. I instantly paled and looked at my terrified son.

“Go see Jasmine.” I instantly barked and he ran to the stairs, not looking back. I knew I was going to pay for that later, for now, it was better he wasn’t here. 

"James." I heard Sirius call to me and I couldn't keep my eyes away from my son's body that was being taken away from me. Andie came in right after them and went to talk to the healer to let him know what happened. I didn't want to know. Knowing would make this all real and I could not let the reality of my son being hurt enough to land in here. 

"Please let me come." I begged as I tried to follow them into the room. They didn't let me. I didn't know if I wanted to at this point. I couldn't stand seeing him like that. He was so pale and he looked so peaceful. Yet, I knew deep inside he wouldn't wake up if I touched his hand. He wouldn't ask me where he was or if Jasmine was okay. He would just lay still. When I looked at his still form all I could think of was that first time I saw him lying asleep in the bed. Back when they put him to sleep when they had him donate. I could hear him screaming for us in fear. Every memory of him going back into that room and us not going in with him to visit because Jasmine was going in for surgery. Or because Jasmine just started to get sick and she wanted us. It never crossed my mind to go tell her what was going on. Not when my baby wasn't for sure going to wake up. 

"Have you called Lily down here?" Sirius asked. I shook my head, why would I? She wouldn’t care, plus she has our other two kids up there with her. Sirius waved his wand and quickly requested that she come down. I didn't know what I was even going to tell her. I haven’t spoken to her since I told her I wanted a divorce. On top of that, I wasn't sure that she would want to stay. I didn't have long to prepare what I was going to say. Luckily Andie was standing there, though she wasn't much better than Sirius and me. Apparently Andie had summoned Molly as well since she appeared the same time as Lily did.

"What happened?" Lily asked. We all looked at each other and I knew there were no words. Molly asked if Harry was alright, and I began to break down. I didn’t know what happened and I wanted it to stay that way. If I didn’t know then there was still a chance.

"Harry-it was an accident. The steps were slippery and someone moved wrong." Andie said, her voice was shaking. Lily looked over at me and I couldn't keep my eyes on her. I felt severe anger towards her for putting him in that situation. If she had stayed with him if we never made him donate. His magic could have saved him from that sort of fall. 

"He wasn't responding. He-they think he hit his temple." Sirius choked out. She seemed to know where he was going with this since her eyes instantly filled with tears. The tears in my eyes began to fall down my face. His magic could have saved him if we didn’t make him donate his magic so much.

All five of us gathered around the waiting room, none of us knew what to do. Lily went back up to see Jasmine after a few minutes. She came back quicker than I expected her to. She told us that Jasmine was sleeping. A part of me wanted to tell her to get the bloody hell out of this room. That she wanted him here so she doesn’t get to stay and worry with us. I don’t say anything though. She is his mother and has every right to stay here and wait for him. I didn’t even realize that I had begun to sob until I felt Sirius grabbing a hold of my shoulder.

"Everything will be okay. Harry has too much to live for." Sirius tells us. I wanted to believe him. I knew Harry was stubborn, at least I thought he was. God, would he keep that trait when he turned fifteen? 

“James, come on.” Sirius says, pulling me over to the seats. I didn’t sit down though. This was all too much for me to sit down again. Too much for me to let myself go through it all again. First my daughter, now my son. Why was the world punishing me like this? I knew I was going to lose one of them, I didn’t think it would be like this. I had thought that I would be able to keep them both. 

It felt like hours since Harry had been levitated behind the two large doors near the waiting room. I kept staring at the doors as though I would miss them open if I looked away. I didn’t want to miss him coming out from behind those doors. With a small pout on his lips from his head hurting. I wanted them to tell us that it was just a bump and he would be fine. That he was only sleeping from being over exhausted. That he was ready for Hogwarts and would be just fine.

“Stop pacing, he will be alright.” Andie tells me. I stopped and stared at her for a second. I could tell she was overwhelmed as the rest of us. Though she likely wasn’t as scared. 

“Sorry.” I mumbled before sitting down. You would think that waiting in this small room wouldn’t be nerve racking. At least for someone who must have been in one over a hundred times. Still, every time I stand foot in one I feel my stomach churn and my palms become sweaty. I could see that Andie and Molly both were trying to keep a calm composure. Sirius was pacing back and forth between two chairs across the room from each other. Lily, well Lily looked deep in thought. I wanted to snap at her, tell her that if this were Jasmine then she would be demanding answers. I know it’s not true. Whenever Jasmine was in operation she was sitting next to the bed in her recovery room. She was at home, sleeping for the first time in days. She was doing something so she didn’t have to think about if she didn’t make it. Now she is in this room since Jasmine was sleeping. She was actually waiting for Harry to make it out of this. 

“What happened?” She then demanded as the healer left the operating room. It wasn’t good, the devastated look in his eyes told us that instantly. Please don’t tell me that we just lost him. Please Merlin tell me that our son is okay.

"He is stable." He said. I let out a breath of relief. This is good. Whatever is wrong we can deal with. We aren’t losing him today.

"He isn't out of the woods yet. He still needs to go into surgery and I have to admit, the likelihood of his survival is not good. Especially from what his last checkup shows us." He continued. That instantly caught our attention. What did he mean by the likelihood of survival?

"I'm sorry, what does that mean?" Lily asked him. The healer sighed and asked us to come into his office. Once we were in there he had us all sit down and he waved a wand, this made an image of a magical core appear in the air. 

"When Harry began to fall his magic tried to save him. It went into overdrive when he hit his head. The reaction was late, though that could be due to his core still recovering from the last time." He said, the image showing what he was saying to give us a visual. Despite the fact I already knew what would happen, seeing the diagram again made my heart stop. We knew that a spike would do this to him, at least those of us who were there knew. I looked at Lily and she almost looked ashamed. Molly, Sirius and Andie both looked at each other before looking at the healer.

"What does that mean for him?" Andie asked. The healer looked uncomfortable as he looked at me and Lily. 

"Due to his magic going into overdrive his core is significantly low, it was also severely damaged." He explained. Lily gasped and I grabbed her hand automatically. We knew the steps for this. This meant repairing the core then finding a person with a similar magic type. This meant going through this again. The healer seemed to know where my mind went. 

"Due to his age, his core is to mature for a donation to work unless it is an exact match. When your daughter first started her core was brand new and her magic was mostly Harry's at this point." He explained. Lily sighed and looked around. I couldn't tell what she was thinking. I wasn't sure I wanted to. 

"What can we do then?" I asked him. He instantly went onto an explanation that was almost overly complicated. They could repair the core but it would be complicated and they risked his magic trying to lash out at them. Again, Jasmine was so young when they did this surgery. It was too new for it to do much damage. 

"You have two options at this point. We can operate and remove his core. This would strip him of his magic, but it would remove the risk of his magic lashing back if he ever gets injured again. The second choice is we repair the core and force a block on it. This would keep his magic but it wouldn't guarantee his safety. He would have to be careful." They tell us. I looked at everyone and I knew. We were back where we started. What would Harry want? Did we do this in vain? Regardless it is a risky surgery. Still, anything to save him. Anything to-no this is what got us in this situation. Sirius looked at me and nodded. I then looked back at him. Maybe we did have an obvious choice after all. Andie then looked at us and I knew we were thinking the same thing. At this point, there was no other choice. I looked at Lily and shook my head. She may hate this, we may never be able to recover from this. 

"Do it." Andie said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know a few of you probably hate me at this point. Erm, I can honestly tell you the ending is not completely what you think despite how it looks right now.


	54. Lily

Jasmine was the first one that we told what happened. She instantly demanded to go see him. I didn't have the heart to tell her that it was better that she didn't. James took her to see him before she went into her operation. She stayed in there with him for what must have been hours. Remus brought Charlus over to see him too. Sirius and Andie came, as did Nymphadora and The whole Weasley clan. I had no idea that Harry was so close to so many people. They all came and left throughout the day. I stayed with Jasmine when she finished visiting. I tried to tell her that things would work out and that the healers said that nothing serious happened in the surgery. She refused to look at me. I think she knew what we decided and she didn't like it. I didn't either for that matter, but it wasn't up to me. James told me that even Sirius agreed with Andie on this one. That Harry wouldn't want-it didn't matter. It was already done. I had no choice in the matter. 

"You ready to visit?" I heard James ask me. I nodded and grabbed his hand and let him lead me to see my youngest child. When we did get into the room my heart stopped. I could see him laying in the bed, his chest visibly rising and falling. It almost looked like when I woke him up in the morning. If he wore an oxygen mask that is. 

"Do you think he will wake up?" I asked James. He didn't respond. I didn't want to start an argument over this so I stayed quiet. I stared over at my son and took his hand in mine. It was warm. I wanted to believe that this was a sign that he was still here with us. James took the other one before letting it go. He then leaned in and whispered something into Harry's ear. He then looked at me and shook his head.

"If he doesn't wake up, I am never going to forgive you." He told me before leaving me alone with him. I wanted to drop the boy's hand and leave. I wanted to run after James or go see Jasmine. I wanted to pretend this never happened, but I knew deep inside that I needed to stay here with him. I needed to see what my actions inevitably caused. 

"I'm sorry little bird." I whispered to him before I squeezed his hand lightly. I waited to feel a twitch, anything to indicate he was with us. Then there was a loud noise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ehh figured I'd just post this now.


	55. Sirius

When Lily left his room I instantly knew something had changed. Healers and Medwitches flooded into the room with gear and wands in hand. At first, I was hopeful that he had woken up, then I saw her face. Her eyes were filled with tears and her lips were wobbling. There was pain written across her face, the same pain that she had when Jasmine almost died all those years ago. The same pain that she had on her face when they were told Jasmine could die back when she first started her treatments.

“He-he can get through this.” I find myself telling her. She didn’t look so sure, in fact, she was shaking her head. 

“I can’t keep pretending they will both get through this. He-he was so sick. How did I not know he was that sick?” She asked me. A part of me wanted to remind her that she never had him checked. That there was so much we probably didn’t know about him because he had no records prior to him getting checked by James’ friend. 

“None of us knew.” I said instead. This was not the time to play the blame game. One of us could have taken him, it was not an issue. James never got him checked, I abandoned him when he needed me. Remus was never around long enough to take him in. Andie just got dragged into this after years of her not getting involved. There were so many of us that could have been here for him. Any of us could have said enough is enough. 

“What happened?” James asked as he walked over. Charlus was leaning on his arm, clearly dead on his feet. I stood up, offering my seat to the tired twelve-year-old. 

“Thanks Siri.” He mumbled, taking it. James was still looking at both of us with a panicked look on his face. 

“He-he flatlined. The healers are in there.” Lily said, her voice was shaking and she didn’t stop crying. I could immediately see the anger and pain cross James’ face. He was already devastated that Harry was in here. Now this? I am almost surprised that Lily was still standing where she is. 

“If you-if you had just listened. If you didn’t put up this fight.” He tried to form his words, though we all knew what he was trying to say. If Lily had listened to both of them, we wouldn’t be in here for him. If James had been paying attention they wouldn’t be here. 

“Now is not the time James.” Lily said. That was not the thing to say right now. Maybe later, but not when he just found out his son might not be here. No, this is not the time to think about the maybes. We need to hope he comes out of this. We need to pray to every deity that we know of to keep him with us. 

“This is the perfect time Lily! Our son could be dying, our daughter just went into surgery. I just got our other son back, I don’t need this.” He said. Tears were streaming down his face as he spoke. I didn’t have the heart to break this one up. They needed to talk, if they don’t get it out now then they never will. 

“We have a code blue on the fourth floor!” I could hear a healer yelling. Instantly the free medwitches and healers came running towards the lift. James and Lily both looked at each other with panicked looks on their faces. 

“Jasmine!” They both yelled. James took off to the lift, but Lily stayed right here. 

“Aren’t you going with him?” I asked her. She looked torn but stayed right where she is. 

“It could be any of the patients up there. We know for a fact that Harry is right here.” She said. For the first time in a long time, I actually recognized the woman who was sitting right next to me. 

James didn’t come back down for over an hour. That was telling enough as to who was flatlining, still, Lily stayed put in her seat. Maybe it was the fact we had a little hope that Harry would be coming through. Maybe it was due to the fact that she had a lot to make up for with him. If he comes through this, he is going to need all the help he could get. Then James came back down. He had tears in his eyes, but a small smile on his face.

“She is stable but they need to work quick.” He said his voice hoarse. Lily seemed to calm down at the news, but her eyes went back to the door. We haven’t heard anything in over an hour and it was worrying. Normally we would have been told what was going to happen. 

“Lord and Lady Potter.” A healer said as he left the room Harry was in. They both looked over and headed over there. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, though from the confused look on Lily’s face it was not good. Her eyes were wide and the tears had almost stopped all together. Then they started again, and she grabbed onto James’ arm. He did not look much better than her. 

“Thank you.” James said before heading over. I was about to ask what they told them, but the look on their face said enough.

“He erm, he is stable.” James said, his voice sounded weak. 

“That’s great.” I said, then he shook his head. If he is stable, why isn’t that good?

“His magic attacked after the surgery. They had thought he lost it all but apparently there was a small amount. The magic that was left overstayed in his body. They couldn’t get it all out, which is what caused his heart to stop.” James shuttered. That did not answer the stable statement at all.

“What did they do in there?” I asked him. 

“They had to remove what they could find. They were successful, but he isn’t awake. They aren’t sure if he will.” James choked out. I pulled him into a hug and he instantly started to fall apart. I am not sure if this could get worse, though I wasn’t about to put that idea out into the universe. Lily hadn’t moved from her spot near the door. She looked like she would run into that room at any minute. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same. 

Eventually, we are told that it would be best to go home. Charlus was fast asleep and the rest of us were dead on our feet. None of us wanted to leave but he wouldn’t heal faster if we are here. Jasmine won't recover quicker if we were staying in the waiting room. Yet none of us wanted to go home, so we all got a few rooms at the Leaky Cauldron. The next morning we all came back. Even Charlus wanted to be here, so James went back to the manor and got his summer homework for him to work on while we waited. No one knew what was going to happen. None of us knew how long we would be in that waiting room. 

“Maybe you should take Charlus out Siri.” James said after we were in that waiting room for an hour. 

“No, I wanna stay.” Charlus said. James sighed and caved in, there was no point. If we weren’t here we would want to be here. We want to know as soon as there is something to know. It was another hour before someone finally came down to talk to us. It was healer Angela. At least it was someone who was familiar with the cases. 

“I’m sorry Lady Potter, there was nothing we could do.” She said, placing a hand on her shoulder. It took me a minute to figure out what this meant. Did something happen? I thought Jasmine was in surgery, wouldn’t we hear about her flatlining? I wanted to scream and beg that they were kidding. That they were somehow mistaken. 

“Harry?” I asked, bringing her attention to me instead. She shook her head silently. 

“They said that they did what they could. He didn’t pull through.” She said. I could hear the regret in her voice but it didn’t matter. I looked right at Lily immediately and saw that she was sobbing. Her eyes were filled with tears and they showed the pain she could not verbalize. James had long since fallen to his knees. 

“She-she wanted to go to the beach. She asked me to take her to the beach,” He kept saying, though I am not sure if he was telling us or himself. 

“He just wanted to help her.” I whispered. We failed them both, and in doing so we lost them both. There might be no words to describe the status of a parent who lost their child. There are somehow fewer words to describe the anguish you feel when you lose said child. The whole world seemed to be crushing you, and you are expected to live past that moment. How can you live past that moment you find out they are gone when they were your only reason to get up in the morning? 


	56. Charlus

It takes a second to change your life forever. I went from the middle child of three to a single child in a second. I went from being on my own by choice to by force. Mum and dad may have lost their children that day, I lost my only friends. I lost my brother and my sister on the same day.

After they died dad hired a mind healer for me. He said that I should have gotten one way sooner. He also had me go to a pediatrician to make sure my core was fine. He seemed so relieved that it was. After I had gone to the mind healer for almost three months he and mum got a divorce. Dad told me that it had been a long time coming and that he couldn’t stand to be near her anymore. 

“I can’t stop thinking that if she hadn’t wanted to fight we wouldn’t have lost them. Jasmine could have been fine if we had them operate sooner. Harry wouldn’t have been in the ministry that day if we had listened to him.”

I think dad and mum should have left each other much sooner. I never told them that, I knew it wouldn’t help. 

After they divorced dad got custody of me. It helped that what happened to Harry and Jasmine was public knowledge. Amelia granted custody to him with little issue. Mum didn’t try to fight, not really. After the divorce dad let her have Jasmine’s trust fund, he said that it was the least he could do to help her make it in our world. With no schooling past Hogwarts and no work experience, it would take a while for her to find work. Especially since she no longer thought she could work at Hogwarts. Mum told me once that she didn’t think she could face Jasmine’s classmates or who would have been Harry’s future classmates. Especially since Dumbledore couldn’t protect her there. 

Andie and Mrs. Weasley went after Dumbledore two years after Harry died. If I remember correctly the youngest Weasley child almost died. I think Mrs. Weasley was reliving the pain she felt when Harry passed away in that moment. None of the Weasley children came back to Hogwarts after that year. Neither did Dumbledore. The last I heard he had gone to Azkaban, though that could have been misinformation. 

I did end up graduating Hogwarts but I did not stay in the wizarding world. Every time I step into any part of the Wizarding world I think about them. I think about the world that Harry never got to see. The world that couldn’t keep either of them alive. They couldn’t protect them, 

Instead, I went to the police academy and got a girlfriend. I haven’t mentioned the wizarding world until now. I did tell her and she didn’t mind. She understood why I had to leave when I did. She is helping me get over the guilt I feel over losing them both. She also is helping me remember what happened and how toxic my childhood had been up until this point. 

“What are you writing?” I hear her voice. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at her. I waved her over to look at the notebook that I had before responding. 

“Everything.” I finally said and she understood. She always understood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now I know many of you are probably angry about how I ended this, especially with having them both die. There is a reason for it, and I want you to know that the ending of this fic changed maybe five times before I decided this was the only way that was best for the characters. If Jasmine died, Harry would have had to hold that guilt for the rest of his life. With how damaged his core was on top of it Lily would have moved her attention to him and she would have learned nothing. If I went the other way and kept Jasmine alive, she wouldn't live a happy and healthy life either and could have died along the way as well due to complications. This is the only way that both of them would be free from their situation. (The OG ending had them both lived and I felt as though I was cheating out at the end)


End file.
